Moments later, my savior rounded the corner of the bush. His gait was rather relaxed for just encountering such a demonic beast. The moonlight was miniscule leaving his face mysterious and shadowy. I got to my feet, watching him brush some dirt off his dark colored pants.

“Are you alright?” The boy asked.

I stepped back, eyeing him cautiously. “Who are you—“

“Are you alright?” He insisted, sounding rushed.

“Y-Yes, I’m fine.” I stuttered a little surprised at his persistence. “Thank you…uh…”

“Jesse. Jesse Slater.” The boy added as if he’d read my mind. Jesse reached forward, taking my hand and shaking it politely. Reluctantly, I followed his kind gesture. His eyes floated towards the sky as he released my hand. “Why would you be walking around this time of night anyhow? It’s dangerous! What the hell were you thinking?”

I searched my mind for an answer as he continued to scold me. None of them seemed to be the right one. Nothing seemed to justify such a reckless action. I couldn’t tell him the truth; I hardly knew who he was. I began to stammer.

“Never mind that…” Jesse sighed, kneeling down placing a group of twigs, branches, and leaves strategically in a pile in the center of the clearing. “We have no chance walking these paths at night. Might as well set up camp here until morning.”

My shoulders relaxed as he showed me
I wasn’t on trial anymore. Though I hadn’t prepared for a night outside in the autumn cold air. It nipped at my skin mercilessly, especially my rose red cheeks. I don’t know what I was thinking when I left my stepfather’s house. Like there would be some shelter for me in the middle of nowhere like “Goldie Locks and the Three Bears”. I’m not sure what I would have done if Jesse hadn’t shown up that night. He noticed my shivers, pulling a thin blanket out of the messenger bag he had strapped around his shoulder and across his broad chest. He gestured it towards me.

“Not sure how much good it’ll do to keep you warm but, try this.”

I smiled and nodded to him gratefully, wrapping it around my shoulders holding it close to me. Jesse nodded back, pulling a match out of his bag. He snapped his fingers directly next to it somehow lighting the match, and dropped it into the pile. As the small flame spread like a wildfire giving some light to the gray area to Jesse’s face. Finally, I could see what my savior or attacker, I wasn’t really sure, looked like.

I had never seen anyone, or anything, like Jesse before. Beyond attractive, he looked to be about seventeen years old. His silky hair was black as ink, hanging just above his vibrant, emerald eyes. Constant emotions running through them seemed to be caution and danger. Jesse wore black pants and a long sleeve shirt which were hidden underneath a black leather trench coat. The coat had dark green embroidered designs from the cuffs to the mid-forearm. Noticing my gawking stare, his lips displayed a sexy modest smile.

Jesse tossed in more kindling to the fire, making it grow larger. Finally, I was able to feel the warmth from it. I cuddled the blanket tighter around me, relaxing as I realized Jesse wasn’t planning on hurting me. He didn’t seem like a foe. From the sounds I heard between him and that creature I could tell he was strong when provoked, I would just have to keep my guard up.

I peered over the bush to see the extent of the damage done to the poison. Half-expecting to see a bloody dirty mess; I was thoroughly mistaken. She was gone, vanished. The creek was undisturbed, just as I had found it earlier. Leaving behind no sign of a struggle, no evidence of anyone’s presence. With the exception of a rose with charcoal black petals tossed haphazardly in the dirt. Jesse stared at me, puzzled at what I was looking at. Crawling to my feet, mesmerized in the rose’s abstract beauty I round the bush and reached for it.

"Naomi! No!” Jesse exclaimed, leaping towards me, faster than I had ever seen anyone move before. He grabbed my wrist and yanked me backwards making me stumble into his arms. This felt a little a too close for comfort. Jesse helped me regain my balance and pulled out a second lit match from his pocket, dropping it on the rose. This time, he didn’t snap the match it sparked on its own. In awe of both the match and the rose I watched the flame slink down wooden match and begin down the stem. It burned each thorn, one by one, and began melting each petal.

My eyes met Jesse’s. He actually looked scared for me, like something horrible was going to happen just by touching a flower. I could feel my mind swelling with so many questions but one screamed louder than the rest.

“How do you know my name?” I asked, with my left eyebrow elevated.

“It’s not important.” Jesse replied, almost too quickly

“Yes it is.” I shot back.

Jesse dismissively turned away from
me, about to head back to the first. I grabbed his shoulder, just as he had done to my wrist, turning him back around. My eyes begged for him to tell me but his were stronger. The emeralds glared back at me, staring me down and weakening my grip. I felt my hand release, against my will. Jesse continued on his path back to the fire. I followed suit sitting across from him, warming my hands against the flames. We sat there in awkward silence, occasionally glancing at one another. Avoiding eye contact as we both listened to the popping and snapping of the burning wood.

Jesse unstrapped the leather bag again, this time pulling out a glass bottle filled with a translucent green liquid with an herb like substance floating in it like leaves on a pond. The bottle was labeled “ABSINTHE”. As Jesse pulled off the cork I caught a whiff of alcohol in the breeze. The scent made me nervously uncomfortable, bringing back memories I seldom wanted to look back on. He brought the bottle to his lips and took a large drink, swallowing hard like the absinthe burned his throat.

Jesse slipped his hand into the bag once more and pulled out a small biscuit, gesturing to me to take it. I accepted it graciously, though just stared and poked at it for a while.
It was a light brown color, shaped in an oval. The crust was smooth on my fingertips.

“You don’t want any?” I asked, pulling it apart as equally as I could. The inside of the biscuit was kind of stale.

Jesse shook his head, exhaling a small laugh. “No, uh, I’m more of a, uh, carnivore myself.”

I shrugged not really understanding his statement. Taking a large bite, I realized how hungry I really was. I resituated my sitting position to being cross-legged to check out the damage that had been done from my fall. The campfire light flickered against my flaws catching Jesse’s attention.

“Holy Hell, what happened to you?”
I noticed Jesse wasn’t looking at my ankle; he was looking at my face. He scooted closer to me to get a better look, guiding his fingers under my chin tilting my head to be in better light. A sharp chill slithered down my back making my shoulders tense as he gently touched my cut.

“I was, uh, cut.” I replied dumbly, praying that would satisfy his question but, knowing full well that it wouldn’t.

I didn’t want to talk about my stepfather, not that night. I wanted my stepfather to be the farthest thing from my mind. Somehow, he always found a way back to my conscious thoughts; overrunning me with the fear that he would hurt me yet again. I took a small bite of biscuit, trying to keep my thoughts from racing.

“It looks like it’s had some time to heal though. Maybe, about a week?” He looked at me, questioning if he was correct.

I coughed, choking on the piece of biscuit I had been chewing. “A week? This happened less than two hours ago…”

Jesse slid me a canteen of water trying to help, patting my back as I finished coughing. “But that can’t be right. There’s a scar.” He grabbed my hand gently tugging me to a stand, bringing me over to the clear creek. I noticed less pain in my leg as he guided me. “See for yourself.”

My jaw dropped; as much as I didn’t want to look at myself anymore I had to check. In place of the crusty, bloody mess that had been there when I left the house, was new skin. A faint scar reminding me of the brutality I had encountered. I touched my scar then looked at my hands and ankle. Astonishingly, they were all healing. I was speechless.


“How did these happen?” Jesse asked, carefully but firm.

Only answer that came to mind was the cliché for all abuse victims. “I-I’m such a klutz. I fall all the time.” Which was partially true…I did fall.

“You fall.” Jesse repeated suspiciously, unconvinced. He tilted my head again eyeing the blemishes on my neck.


Damn it, third lie I’ve been caught in today.

He went to speak again but I cut him off. “I don’t want to talk about it! Okay?”

Jesse’s emerald eyes grew wide, a feeling of surprised at the way I spoke. I didn’t think he’d back off so easily with a polite request.

“Fair enough.” He sighed. “But still, how could they have healed so fast? …Of course! Naomi, did you clean your wounds with this water?” Instantly, Jesse was full of energy and excitement.

I looked down at the creek, remembering how refreshing its water had felt on my skin. I shrugged my shoulders looking back up at Jesse. “Yeah, I did, why?”

Jesse's rough hand dug through his coat pocket rummaging around for a moment until he found what he was looking for. Out came a beaten-up, small dagger. It was probably a clean, shiny knife at one point but time had taken its toll on the cheap metal. I stepped backwards as soon as I saw it, unsure of what he planned to do with it. Jesse’s fingers handled the dagger so delicately. He noticed my cautious movements.

"Relax.” Jesse reassured, holding out his index finger as he ran the blade up and down, taunting the soft skin of his fingertip. As the blade reached the end of his finger he pressed downward and pulled back, leaving behind a straight trail of blood. Jesse’s blood looked dark, an ashy crimson, almost too dark to be real. His expression never changed, he never winced.

“Jesse!” I gasped, watching him bleed as he cleaned off the knife and placed it back in his pocket.

He raised his other hand up towards me as if to silence me and then crouched down beside the stream. His dreamy eyes looked at me and he gave me a smile like he knew exactly what was going to happen next. Jesse dipped his fingertip in the crisp, clear water then pulled it back out, holding it up for me to see.

Nothing changed it was just a cleaner cut.

“Jesse, I don’t see a difference.” I sighed impatiently, folding my arms.

“Watch.” Jesse insisted.

“What are we looking f—“

“Just watch.”

Just as I was about to turn around I noticed movement. The laceration on Jesse’s fingertip was closing. I gazed in awe, feeling just as stunned as I had been when I first saw the poison.

How can this be possible? He’s…healing

We both went back to the fire and sat down. The fire kept dwindling and sparking back to life. After a moment of silence Jesse began to speak about what I had just seen.

“Curious and beautiful think magick can be.” Jesse stated, examining his finger. “and always works to perfection.”

“Magick…? Did you just say magick?”

Jesse nodded casually, like it was nothing out of the ordinary. “Is something wrong?”

I couldn’t say anything was wrong exactly. I was dumbfounded, speechless. The very idea of something as farfetched as magick truly existing in the world was unbelievable to me. I couldn’t wrap my mind around anything that was going on.

Jesse placed his hand on my knee carefully. “Naomi? Are you all right?”

There. There it was. He said my name again.

How did he know? Determined to get an answer out of him this time, I rejected his soothing gesture by pushing his hand off of my knee.

“How do you know me?” I asked, a cold tone in my voice. It hid the fact I was scared to know the real answer.

Was he stalking me? Did I have some sort of long lost sibling? Anything seemed possible on this late September night.

Jesse’s reaction looked insulted, yet calm. He reached for the absinthe bottle resting against his backpack, sipping it once. His voice sounded raspy from the bitter taste as he replied.

“Because…” He stopped himself, opening his mouth to say something, and then stopped again. The suspense was weighing hard on my mind, finally he blurted,

“Because I sort of knew your mother.”

I thought my ears were lying to me. That was the last response I expected. My eyebrows rose. “What?”

“I knew your mother.” He repeated.

“Well, my caretaker did.”

I threw questions at him before I could even think of them.

“What? H-How? When?”

Jesse looked puzzled. “She never told you? About any of this?”

My mind fumed with frustration and confusion. I was beyond tired of being lost in half the things he was talking about. “Never told me what!”

Jesse shushed me quickly. “No need to shout.” He took a sip from his absinthe then ran his rough fingers nervously through his hair. Exhaling and muttering under his breath, “Shit…I’m sorry. I thought you knew, at least something about this place. I don’t really think it’s my place to tell you…”

This was insanity he couldn’t tell me something like that and then say it wasn’t his place to elaborate. The suspense was tearing me from the inside out. The breeze of the late night picked up, running through the strands of my hair. I moved away from Jesse and from the fire. My eyes were darting back and forth between the two.

“Jesse, you’re sounding crazy. What’s going on? What didn’t my mom tell me?”

Jesse breathed another sigh, gesturing for me to come back, closer to him and the fire. “I’m not mad. I won’t hurt you.”

His soft smile could never be fabricated. For some reason, this person I had only known for all of an hour or two was the most trustworthy person I had ever met.

He hesitated. “There’s no taking back what I said and you deserve to know the truth. I just wish she had told you sooner.”

“Just. Tell me. I can handle it.” I pressed on impatiently, bracing myself for any surprise I might get from what he had to say. Though, in all honesty, I was far from able to handle any more surprises in one night.

“Going back in time,” Jesse began. “This land, like any other, has never been perfect but it had structure. Only interrupted by little quarrels, that structure gave us a sense of peace. Inhabited mostly by two, clans I guess you could call them, the sorcerers and the witches. Also, like any other inhabitance, those days are long gone.
Our government, the Zephyr Court, was run by 8 leaders—four witches and four sorcerers. Their chair names were: Flamè, Aer, Shadows, Aquarious, Liees, Sinest, Slater,and Blackmoor.”

My heart jumped into my throat.

“Wait, wait. Shadows?”

He opened his mouth replying like he was reading out of a textbook, not talking to a friend. “Sorceress Jane Shadows was one of the most powerful sorceresses of our lifetime. Her magickal talent combined with her kind heart made her the perfect candidate to receive the honor of keeping the source of the Zephyr Court’s power in her possession. Two crystals; in which receive and release energy during the dates of their meetings, including Samhien, the winter solstice, and summer solstice. The crystals are called the Shard of Witchcraft and the Shard of Sorcery.” Jesse paused taking another swig from his bottle, then continued on with his story. It seemed so fake, so fantastical but I couldn’t help but to be intrigued.

“About nineteen years ago, there was a small skirmish over, of course, power. A witch by the name of Lucretia Sinest was jealous that your mother, Jane, was chosen to hold the sacred shard because they gave Jane more magick than she already possessed. Lucretia wanted them for who knows what disgusting plot. The court refused her pleas, they were smarter than that.”

“Lucretia…” I repeated her name. “A
witch…what is she able to do?”

“Earth abilities—the plants, the trees; she had quite the green thumb in the past. Roxanna actually looked up to her. Sadly, using these powers and the dark arts of necromancy, she created the poison, her followers, to her bidding. They feed on the life energy of sorcerers. Only the pure bred sorcerers, if they were able to consume witches, they would’ve defeated Lucretia long ago. Things died down for a little while, a few years, and then all hell broke loose.” Jesse stopped again.

I was nearly off the edge with intrigue. “What? What happened?”

“Sixteen years ago, an uprising occurred plummeting our land into the years of hell. Poison attacked the Zephyr Court in fleets, two days before the summer solstice. The court’s power had not escaladed fully. They weren’t strong enough to fight off all of the poison. Witches were captured, tortured, and murdered. Sorcerers were fed upon by the poison, infected with agonizing diseases, or killed at the scene.” Jesse seemed to tense up the more he talked about that day. He was no longer keeping eye contact with me.

I didn’t care. My mind was somewhere else. When Jesse spoke of those diseases it brought me back to the hospitals. Seeing doctors scratch their confused heads. Listening to them tell my mother, who was gripping my stepfathers hand tightly, that in all their careers they had never seen anything like this. The virus was so precisely attached to her genetic code, they didn’t know how to treat it or fight it. I could still hear them telling my mom and stepfather that there was nothing they could do but give her something for the pain. I remember my mom sitting me down and explaining to me that she wasn’t going to be around much longer. I could vividly see the beads of sweat on her forehead as she laid there defenseless on her deathbed. I knelt by her side as her time neared. Shaking, quivering hands held mind, cold and clammy.

Guard these with your life, mom had said to me, and no harm will ever come to you. Then my mother slipped two charms in my hand, two crystals. There was one for me and one for Sienna. As she closed my hand for me, my mom fell into a breathless, dreamless sleep that she would never wake up from. As peaceful as it was, I was traumatized seeing my mom die but I remained strong for Sienna since her father obviously was a mess.

I gave Sienna the charm I didn’t want, the one with a snake wrapped around a slender crystal. Shortly after I gave it to her, my stepfather found it and locked it away in some box like he couldn’t bear to look at it. I kept the one with a rose wrapped around it, managing to keep mine hidden from my stepfather all this time. If he ever did take it, I always retrieved it, even if that meant searching through the garbage at all hours of the night. That crystal was all I had left of my mother and I wasn’t about to let it out of my sight.

On default as my thoughts raced, I reached for my amulet to fidget with as I always had when my mind took over. Could those be the shards Jesse was talking about? Why didn’t mom tell me? Tears began to weld up in my eyes as the confusion and frustration set in. I hid my necklace back under my shirt to make sure it was kept safe.

“What’s that?” Jesse asked, curiously as the fire moved shadows around again.

“Nothing.” I replied as quickly as it had been safely tucked away. Trying to change the subject I asked, “Are any of the court members still alive?”

“Aside from Lucretia, two of the eight leaders remain, Wizard Blaise Flamè and Witch Anastasia Aquarious.” He paused, and carefully stated, “Sorceress Jane Shadows is still unaccounted for.”

I looked at him, slightly confused. “You didn’t know she passed away?”

Jesse bowed his head remorsefully. “Sorceress Shadows disappeared directly after the Zephyr Court raid. No one knew what happened to her…I’m sorry for your loss though. What happened, if I may ask?”

I didn’t reply for a long time, just listened to the popping and snapping of the fire. Coughing slightly as the changing breeze sent smoke in my direction.

“She was very sick, for a long time.” I bit my lip. I didn’t want to talk about her anymore. My stomach churned with nausea as my stress level continued to rise. I held my belly and breathed slowly to keep from throwing up.

Jesse tilted his head to be sure he was looking into my eyes. “It’s all right, Naomi. We don’t have to talk about her anymore. Not right now.”

I didn’t say anything in response, just nodded, still chewing on my lower lip idly.

He placed his hand on my knee trying to keep me calm. I inhaled and exhaled deeply, relaxing my nerves.

“I’m sorry.” I said apologetically.
“It’s not a subject I’m comfortable with yet…”

Jesse nodded, muttering barely audible, “I know how that goes…”

My eyes led to the ashes of the rose that Jesse had burned in front of me. “Why wasn’t I allowed to touch that rose? And who was that poison thing?”

“As I said, they’re Lucretia’s minions, for a while we thought there wasn’t a way to get rid of them. We’ve shot them, beat them, stabbed them, and so on. Turns out, their weakness is what they’re created from…” Jesse trailed off digging in his deep pockets, revealing a dried wild rose. “Fire with fire.”

“Roses?” I asked taking it out of his hand, poking at the crisp petals.

“Yes, drop this in front of a poison and their black, mindless, and undead souls become pulled into the rose turning it completely black. Then their bodies turn to dust and blow away in the wind. That’s why you must never touch a black rose or their soul will enter you. Taking your mind, body, and soul hostage to its blood thirsty ways of killing.”

“Jesus…” I whispered, suddenly grateful for the way Jesse had acted when he stopped me from touching it.

“It’s the cold truth. These are dark times.”

Jesse took a large drink from his absinthe, then finally putting it away in his leather bag. I was happy to not have to smell the alcohol anymore. A chilling breeze weaved through the trees and the bushes, hitting the flames of the warm fire making it tilt and sway. I wrapped my arms around myself with the blanket, continuing to try and keep warm.
Jesse’s eyes gazed towards the sky.

“Dawn comes soon, best to get some sleep while we have the chance.”

Sleep? That would be the last thing I would be able to do.

Jesse propped his leather bag like a pillow and rested his head on it, sprawling out the rest of his body like he had done it a million times before. I couldn’t imagine that being comfortable at all. Especially laying on a glass bottle and God knows what else is in there. Jesses eyes were closed but I was sure he wasn’t sleeping.

I laid down where I was. The dirt ground was uncomfortable on my head and back. Propping up my backpack as well, I rested my head on that. Now I was alone with my thoughts, and no amount of sleep was going to get rid of the buzzing headache in my mind.
There was no one staring at me anymore, nothing to distract me from my thoughts. Just me, my mind, and my eyes darting left and right.

Sleep wasn’t going to come easily, I couldn’t stop thinking about my mom. Thinking about all the things she hadn’t told me. The way I knew her, Jane Shadows was a stay at home mother, a human, polite, yet firmly honest, woman who was nice to everyone and loved by everyone.
Constant questions ran through my mind.

Why? Why hadn’t she told me, shown me, what her life really was?
What? What else hadn’t she told me?
How? How could she keep a secret like that from me, her daughter?
Who? Who was my real father then? Was he from here? Was he alive?

Throughout the tornado of contradictions and questions on realization rang true and loudest of all...
...Sienna was right...

Heeled boots clicked loudly down a darkened corridor lit only by torches held up by dusty golden arms. The person who wore these shoes was a menacing looking woman with jet black hair and long fingernails. She seemed to be in a hurry, her heels clicking in time with her fast paced tempo. She was tall, a powerful height, which seemed to make even the walls cower in her presence. A long black dress with red laced edges covered her feet. Her eyes were a fiery red, firm, and fixated like she always knew what she wanted and how to get it.

The woman paused outside a rusty metal cage. Locked away like animal inside was Sienna, huddled together on the floor with her knees to her chest in the far right corner of the cage. She shivered from the cold and the fear that overcame her.

“Unlock it.” The woman ordered to her minion, a poison, who was designated to guard the cage. It stood beside her fumbling a copper key through its boney fingers. The creature did as it was told, placing the key in the iron lock.

Sienna shook more with ever clink of metal against metal.

Clink. Shiver. Clink. The door squealed open guided by rusty hinges.

“Come here child.” The woman said with a dark sweetness crouching down to eye level with Sienna. Sienna staggered to her feet and tiptoed cautiously over to the stranger. “Darling…Where is your sister?”

Sienna looked to her feet unable to make eye contact with such a powerful person. “I-I don’t know.”

The unknown woman’s eyes flicked to annoyance. Sienna quivered knowing she had dissatisfied her.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” She asked, her teeth clenched as she tried to regain control of her rage.

“S-She ran away…last night. Daddy got really mad…He started breaking things…”

“That means she must be in the forest somewhere.” The woman muttered, cursing herself numerous times for missing her chance. Had her poison already encountered the girl? It never did return to the castle…

The woman fiddled with a metal rose ring on her right hand, standing up to show she was no longer one with the little child. She turned to leave, whipping back around backhanding Sienna in the face. Sienna fell to the ground instantly crying. The indent of a rose pressed into the soft skin of her cheek.

“Lock her up.” The woman said in disgust and hurried back down the corridor. Sienna’s whimpers fading off into the distance behind her.
-------

Morning came way too quickly. Dried tears clung to my eyes as the sun began to shine in them, begging me to wake up and join the wilderness life with the chirping birds. All I wanted to do was roll over and make it all go away. I felt more tired than when I had gone to sleep.

I heard Jesse fumbling around in his backpack then with the fire pit. I kept my eyes closed and listened more as Jesse whistled a little tune happily. A smile spread across my face as I listened to a few more notes. It was the happiest sound I had heard in a while. I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes and opened them to my surprise meeting Jesse’s gaze.

“Good morning.” Jesse greeted with a welcoming smile, he was cooking some sort of stew over the fire. It smelled awful.

“Sienna…” I muttered rubbing my forehead trying to soothe the headache of a sleepless night. I winced as I sat up. My spine ached as if I had slept on cement. I looked around. It was early, too early; it had to have been just after sunrise. Tiny drops of dew glittered upon every leaf and blade of grass. Everything around me seemed so peaceful and in balance.

“How’d you sleep?” Jesse asked as he watched me rub my back sorely. Opposite of me, Jesse looked well rested. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, he seemed ready for whatever came his way.

“Uncomfortably.” I groaned while yawning, jealous of how awake he seemed.

Jesse laughed a little, knowing all too well the discomfort of sleeping on the dirt ground. He asked if something to eat. I was reluctant to say “yes” if breakfast was the stew he was cooking, but my stomach grumbled with hunger. I knew I had granola bars in my backpack but I wanted those to last as long as possible.

“Sure…” I finally responded.

He handed me a tin cup filled with the warm stew. Steaming as the heat of the liquid mixed with the cool morning air.

“Thanks.” I said, trying to sound grateful. “What is this?”

“You don’t want to know.” Jesse replied quickly. “It will give you more strength.”

I shrugged, sipping it slowly. The taste was bland and the heat burned my throat but the more I drank the more energetic I felt. Energy almost felt like a drug, I chugged it down wanting to feel more. I swallowed wrong forcing me to cough. Jesse handed me a canteen filled with water he’d gotten from the creek. The refreshing liquid ran coolly down my throat soothing the fire.

My eyes watered from choking. I rubbed away the involuntary tears. As I closed my eyes, flashes from the dream I’d had haunted me. The dark chuckles of that woman. Sienna crying. I gasped snapping my eyes open looking at my surroundings frantically.

Jesse noticed my distress instantaneously. “Whoa, is something bothering you, Naomi?”

“No…” I responded, catching my breath. “Not at all.” Knowing he didn’t believe me, I tried to change the subject quickly before he asked about it again. “What are we doing today?”

Jesse let off a laugh, like I was joking. “We aren’t doing anything. I need to be somewhere and you need to go home. It’s not safe for you here.”

Home. I had no home. My stepfather would search for me for a little while, only to rip my throat out if he were to find me. God forbid he ever have the police get involved. He wouldn’t have them around our house, not for a second. He knew what he was doing was wrong and wasn’t about to get caught, especially, at my expense. He doesn’t care about me. Only his precious privacy. That’s why I only called Lynn. The reason I didn’t leave a note. She’s the only one who ever cared about me besides Sienna. Sienna was too young to understand anything that was going on. I didn’t want to go home. I couldn’t go home. I didn’t have a home to go to.

“It’s not safe for me anywhere.” I muttered under my breath so he couldn’t hear. I nibbled my lower lip nervously asking a little louder, “Why can’t I come with you?”

“I’m sure your father is looking for you.”

“No he’s not. And he is not my father.” I shot at him coldly. “I don’t remember my father.”

“Oh, I-I’m…sorry.” Jesse mumbled apologetically.

“I don’t have anywhere to go…”

Jesse stopped for a moment and rolled his eyes, thinking. Weighing the consequences on letting me join his mysterious adventure. Realizing he had little choice and that I wasn’t about to give in, he sighed loudly. “Fine, but keep your mouth shut and don’t fall behind. No matter what.”

I was overcome with relief.


Jesse refused to tell me where we were or where we were going. My muscles and joints screamed for mercy as we walked, still sore from sleeping on the ground. Jesse seemed to stick to a curvy dirt path only wide enough for a single file line. I stepped where he stepped, unsure what would happen if I strayed away from him.

Following his instructions, I had kept quiet for the majority of our journey, silently admiring every piece of life around us. Healthy trees, dying trees, ferns, scurrying small animals—like squirrels and chipmunks—, bugs and colorful birds’ song. It all was so peaceful. A rhythmic pace of Jesse’s quick steps, my labored breaths trying to keep up with him and the forest life. All was one. Jesse was so dominant. He seemed like he was conducting it all with smooth quick strides that never missed a beat.

Occasionally, I’d put a break in the rhythm attempting to start up a conversation but Jesse only replied in small word responses then dropped the subject entirely. I could tell he wasn’t thrilled with the fact he wasn’t walking alone. The air had a sense of awkward tension like he was being burdened. Where ever we were going he sure did want to go alone. After a while, I just gave up on trying to get him to talk and let him be in his ambient silence.

He stopped in front of a pine tree. The orchestra of the forest rested with him. The ground was layered in pine needles. I looked at the tree carefully. There didn’t look to be anything special about this tree. The whole area was surrounded by them.

Why stop here?

I looked at Jesse with a confused expression but remained quiet. Jesse hissed a few phrases so quiet I could barely hear. His words echoed through the wind. Running his rough index finger down the trunk of the tree, he drew a large rectangle shape. Just big enough for a person to fit in. Jesse whispered a few more phrases and the rectangle creeaaakkked open like a door, revealing a staircase. An endless staircase that reached down into the depths of dark nothingness. My eyes were locked on Jesse, my expression in awe and confusion.

“Tell anyone of where this is or what you see here…and I’ll…well, use your imagination.” Jesse threatened trailing off.

I nodded to show I understood. Using my imagination to anticipate punishment was one thing I was good at.

Jesse confidently took the first step down the stairs. I followed behind cautious and clumsy. There were no railings and no light. The door in the trunk shut and sealed making any hope of light seem like a pipe dream. I heard water in the distance, drip drop drip with every step I took. The air was cool but humid and musky. Even though I couldn’t see Jese, I knew he was there. A dominating, calm, collected presence like his is something I could always tell was around me.

“Follow my voice.” Jesse coaxed.

The stairs stopped going down, leaving us on another dirt path, I heard it rustle under my feet. We turned down a narrow corridor. I couldn’t follow Jesse’s voice. The sound bounced off the walls in all directions. I trusted my instincts and walked straight ahead. Well, what I thought was straight ahead.

A quick flash of light caught my eye. Startled, and without thinking I grabbed Jesse’s hand, it felt comforting. Quickly, he pulled away. The flash of light flicked down to a flame. I found myself smiling in relief. It was a match. The flame that was slinking down the match paused for a moment then exchanged places with a floating ember. Thick, smoke scent filled the corridor.

“Seth, what are you doing here?” Jesse asked, a hint of irritation in his voice.

The person apparently named “Seth” lit another match, placing it in a small oil lamp, giving light to our cramped surroundings. The walls were stone and gray, the space between them was only enough for two average people to walk side by side. The celing was lower than I expected, almost too close for comfort.

I startled myself when my eyes moved to Seth. He looked to be about the same age as Jesse but that was their only similarity. Seth’s light blonde hair contradicted everything about him. His eyes were dark brown, almost black. So dark that it was difficult to figure out where is irises ended and his pupils began, leaving empty black holes where his expression should’ve been. His stature was that of a walking corpse, lanky and bony, swimming in a leather coat similar to Jesse’s. Slightly pointed ears poked out from pale blonde side burns and he had an earring on the left side.
Seth brought the cigarette he’d lit to his lips and inhaled slowly, savoring the charcoal flavor on his tongue.

“Jesse Slater. We thought you’d abandoned us.” He stated in anything but a worried tone, as smoke snaked out of his mouth and nose. A light chuckle rose in his throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

“You know, you should really quit that.” Jesse told him, nodding to the cigarette with an indifferent expression.

Seth didn’t reply right away, but took a long drag on his cigarette once more exhaling the smoke directly in Jesse’s face. Jesse coughed, but his face remained emotionless.

“I will do whatever I damn well please, Slater. Now, are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?” Seth jeered.

Jesse shot him a threatening glare, his emerald eyes glowing angrily in the lantern’s faint light.

Seth raised his has as to surrender. “Don’t get so worked up, Jess.”

Jesse’s glare dimmed down to a calm annoyance. Seth looked down at the lantern to check that the oil wasn’t low. An awkward silence in the air suffocated us all. In an attempt to get rid of it, I cut in with, “I’m Naomi.”

I tried to force a smile as I held out my hand for a nervous handshake greeting. Seth looked at me with his corpse, elevator eyes ignoring my gesture.

“She looks familiar…” Seth declared to Jesse with an unsure tone, like I wasn’t there. “And what’s with the clothes?”

I peered downward at my attire, a sweatshirt and jeans. I did stick out like a sore thumb around here, especially if everyone was dressed like them. Feeling my cheeks get hot, I turned my head hiding my blushes in the shadows. Jesse seemed just as uneasy, if not more, his fingers fidgeting while he clenched and unclenched his fists.

Seth raised an eyebrow towards me, anticipating a response. My eyes darted back and forth between him and Jesse, wondering what I was allowed to tell him. To my relief, Seth changed the subject on his own to something that seemed a little less awkward for Jesse.

“Elle is going to kill you if she sees you brought a girl home.”

Jesse lowered his head. “I know.”

Seth smirked as if he enjoyed dragging out Jesse’s pain. “Especially after being gone for two days, she’ll be thinking you were off with Naomi here.”

“I know.” Jesse responded firmly, tense with annoyance. “Where is Elle?”

“In there. With Roxanna.” Seth replied dropping his cigarette on the ground with many others, stepping out the ember. I heard a faint sizzle sound from under his boot.

“Cmon, Naomi.” Jesse motioned for me to follow behind him. Seth walked next to me carrying the lantern. He swung it back and forth on his finger, the shadows around us swaying with his motion.

As we turned around a corner, making sure Jesse was far enough away, I leaned over to Seth and whispered, “Who’s Elle?”

Seth smiled, whispering back in his creepy low voice. “Jesse’s girlfriend of two years. She’s nineteen.” He made it sound as though dating an older woman was something of an accomplishment. “They’ve been pretty serious—the ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’ of our little camp.”

Jesse—who had been ignoring us this entire time—led Seth and I straight into what looked like a gypsy refugee camp. I couldn’t believe we were still underground. The ceiling was much higher in here and the walls were farther apart. Simple, basic, tan colored tents were lined up like cornrows. Neat, straight, almost perfect. Everyone had a place. There had to be at least 30 people down here most of them didn’t look older than thirteen; with the exception of a small group of people sitting around a blazing fire near the entrance of the camp. There were two girls and one boy. They looked to be anywhere from sixteen to nineteen. The two girls were talking about something, and the boy looked like he was asleep propped up against a crate. The fire burning near them dwindled. I watched the smoke rise to the roof seeping out through a chimney like hole.

Having seen Jesse, one of the girls got up from the fire pit running to him. She threw her arms around him and gave him a long, lustful kiss on the lips.. I had guessed this woman was Elle. She had a kind of simple beauty about her, blonde hair and hazel eyes. Dressed in a black and green corset dress that flowed all the way to her ankles. Seth rolled his eyes in awkward disgust. I waited patiently for her and Jesse to finish.

Elle opened her eyes and glanced in my direction, surprised by my presence she broke the kiss. “Uh, Jess, who is this?” Her suspicious eyes examined me up and down. I had never felt such daggers not even by my stepfather.

“I’m Naomi Sha—“

“Naomi.” Jesse cut me off.

I looked at him puzzled, leaning towards him and whispered, “Why can’t they know who I am? Aren’t they sorcerers?”

“Well, yes but you’re a Shadows. They may think your being here poses a threat to our security. So do us both a favor and keep your mouth shut before you screw both of us over, all right?” He hissed looking tenser than ever. I did as I was told and shut my mouth.

“Jess, don’t interrupt guests when they’re speaking.” Elle scolded.

Seth walked up behind Jesse, hissing in his ear tauntingly, “She has you whipped man.”

Jesse didn’t reply, instead retaliating by elbowing Seth in the stomach and barked at him to shut up. Seth groaned in agony but shook it off. I laughed lightly at the expression on his face but wiped it away as he glared at me.

Elle rolled her eyes at their animal-like behavior, then turned to me. “Now, what were you saying, Naomi?”

I shook my head, refusing to speak. I wasn’t sure what I could tell her but, by the way Jesse was looking at me, the truth wasn’t going to be an option.

“Seth!” Elle called.

Seth walked up beside her, looking aggravated. “What.”

“Show Naomi to our vacant guest tent.”

I shivered as Elle spoke my name. Every time she said it there was a bittersweet spitefulness to her voice. Seth’s eyes rolled as he heard her order but managed to mumble, “C’mon.”


I followed Seth through the maze of tents. The layout was simple, about five tents by five tents. The locals, children and preteenagers, poked their heads of their cloth curtains to see their new visitor. I got the impression they didn’t get many newcomers, especially dressed in jeans. All the boys wore simple long sleeve shirts or coats and long pants. All the girls were in dresses or skirts. It felt like a blast back to medieval times. I felt very out of place. Their expressions weren’t exactly very welcoming either, they looked…scared.

Seth stopped outside a tent farthest away from the entrance, the “guest tent”. He held the cloth door back so I could walked through then stepped in behind me. The furniture arrangement was quaint but not very clean. A cot was covered haphazardly with a flower printed quilt. An antique trunk was placed at the foot of the cot. It looked beaten, one of the hinges was broken so the lid laid lopsided. Dust planted itself all through the interior of the tent. As abandoned and off putting as it looked, the area that surrounded me felt comforting. Seth noticed my mixed expression of reluctance.

“I’m not going to ‘excuse the mess’. We don’t accommodate strangers often. Cleaning a tent that’s barely used seems like a waste of energy.” He stated harshly like it was going to justify the clutter and the dust.

“No,” I stopped him, forcing a smile. “It’s fine.”

“Yeah, well.” Seth sighed. “If it were up to me, you wouldn’t be here.” He paused for a moment to look at me while I was still admiring the room. “Shadows.”

I felt the name startle my heart, snapping my eyes towards him. He kept his corpse stare dead with mine. Chuckling, knowing he had me trapped. “What? You think we’re all stupid?”

“I never said that,” I replied, matching his firm tone.

“Jesse seems to think so.” He shot back, giving me no time to finish speaking.

Getting inches away from my face he just stood there, breathing heavily. The stale scent of cigarette smoke was thick on his breath and clothing. His skin looked dirty up close. I tried to step backwards but Seth placed his arm around me, his hand square in the middle of my back. I couldn’t move.

“Jesse seems to trust people here. I don’t think he’d lie to you.” I defended, trying to hide my fear by avoiding his eyes.

“Look at me.” Seth demanded.

His glare, his tone, it all reminded me of my stepfather. The way he acted and spoke. They were both controlling, dangerous, and just plain angry. I thought I was finally out of these threatening situations but it looked like my real trouble was only beginning.

Seth moved in a little too close to me, barely an inch in between us. This time I was able to separate myself but only for a moment, as he grasped tightly on to my arm. I turned to Seth, watching him smile a devilish grin.

“You’re hurting me.” I whined in an angry hiss as his grip tightened.

“Who said anything about Jesse lying to us?” His devious smile told me I was trapped. My slip of the tongue was going to be the death of me. I stammered but he didn’t give me time to comment. “The genetic combination of brown hair and bright blue eyes isn’t common, at least in these parts. Jesse is the only other with a curious combination, black and green…but you Naomi, you look just like your mother…” He trailed off, pondering his discovery.

I wished people would stop bringing up my mom. I wished I was still the naïve girl stuck in my room day in and day out. All I was able to do was think and contemplate but I at least was completely oblivious. Ignorance seemed like the most blissful feeling in the world , but now I was far from it.

“You knew her to?”

Seth paused and shrugged. “She was the Zephyr Court member who came to the village I lived in when my parents were still alive. The government is what it is, was what it was. Personally, I hated it. But Sorceress Shadows wasn’t like the other leaders. She actually cared about people and—What happened here?”


Stopping mid-sentence, Seth’s attention turned to the scar on my face. He reached up and ran his fingertips over it. I jerked my head away from his ice cold hand. Seth chuckled. “Hmm..what? You don’t trust me?”

“No.” I spat back making no attempt at sarcasm.

“What are you so afraid of?”

Seth’s question startled me. I think he expected just a short answer like ‘nothing, leave me alone’ or ‘you’ but it really made me think.

What was I so afraid of? Trusting people? My stepfather? Pain? Death? Loss?

I couldn’t answer. I didn’t know.

A long awkward silence followed my unsure thoughts. Seth released his grip of my arm and let me move to the cot. A cloud of dust puffed off of the quilt’s surface as I plopped down. My eyes were constantly glued to the floor. Seth lit a cigarette and took a large drag. The ember flared up as he inhaled. He went to say something but exhaled smoke instead. Secondhand smoke lingered in the air giving a sickening feeling in my stomach as I breathed it into my lungs.

“How long have you known who I am?” I asked cutting into the silence.

“Since the tunnel.” Seth replied, taking another hit. “It’s no secret. I told you, you look just like your mother.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” I stated, unsure if he meant it as one. “Do you think Elle knows?”

A dull headache began to appear in the back of my head as I waited for Seth to answer. He sat down beside me. The old, rickety cot whined underneath the weight of two people.

“I’m positive she knows.” He answered finally. “You heard the way she spoke to you.”

“Kind of like how you speak to me?” I shot at him cynically.

“That’s…different.” Seth hesitated, taking a large hit off of his cigarette then offered it to me. I shook my head.

“How so?”

Seth wasn’t looking at me anymore. His once firm eyes were now directed towards the ground in thought. Smoke slipped out his nostrils like a dragon as he began to speak.

“Look, I don’t like Elle anymore than you do.”

“…I never said I didn’t like—“

“Just shut up and listen, would you?” Seth snapped.
I recoiled into my seat and let him finish his thought. “Elle’s suspicious of you because she’s fearful of any pretty thing that walks these woods. She thinks everyone wants Jesse.”

I felt my cheeks get hot. Pretty? Me? That was definitely a word I had never been told before but was I really blushing? Seth didn’t seem to notice, his gaze still deadlocked with the dirt.

“I’m suspicious because, well, I have my reasons.” He continued. “If one Zephyr Court member can create an entire conspiracy, who’s to say they aren’t all in on it? Even their descendants.”

My headache flared into a frustrated migraine.

“I didn’t ask for this.” I stated coldly, as Seth turned to look at me. “I only came into the forest to escape from…”

I bit my tongue. Not here, not now, not ever. Seth was the last person I wanted to discuss my stepfather with. Despite that, talking about my stepfather only gave him the power to control me longer.

“Go on…escape from what?” Seth’s ebony eyes concentrated on me carefully with a raised eyebrow waiting for an answer. He was like a lawyer, asking questions he knew would help his case.

My teeth tugged nervously at my lower lip. I realized that resistance would be hopeless in this cramped space.

Jesse walked in a second before I was about to answer. I let out a sigh of relief. His hands were burdened with a pile of clothing.

“Naomi, we—“ He cut himself off as he noticed Seth. “Seth, what are you still doing here?”

Seth stood up, looking sternly at me then softening his glare as his eyes met Jesse’s. I swear I heard a light growl rumble through Seth’s throat. The sound vanished before I could listen for it again. A fake smile spread across his face, masking his cautious defense.

“I was just leaving.” Seth replied, stomping out without another word.

The cloth door caught on something on the ground leaving a gleam of light peering inside. Its flimsy stability showed me how much privacy I didn’t have.

Jesse turned to me. “Are you all right?” He sounded alarmed like Seth had done something to me.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” I responded with false confidence.

“No reason.”

Jesse’s body relaxed entirely, his offensive personality obliterated. It was the first time he looked calm since I had met him. A guilty feeling weighed down my conscience realizing I would have to ruin it. I walked over to the drapes and made sure it was completely closed, unsure who could be lurking around.

Jesse raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you sure nothing is wrong? You’re acting peculiar.”

I fidgeted with my sleeve nervously, avoiding his eye contact as that guilty feeling came over me once more. It would be my fault if he got into any trouble for my being here.

“Jesse knows who I am, Seth, he knows.” I blurted. “Elle to.”

“What?” He asked on default, hearing perfectly what I said. Jesse ran his fingers through his hair, cursing under his breath.

I got my apology all prepared. I was ready to tell him that I’d go home despite what my stepfather would do to me. Also, ready to tell him that my singular life was not worth putting all of these children in jeopardy.

Jesse began rationalizing the situation before I even had the chance to talk. “Obviously, Elle doesn’t want the others to know or she would’ve already told them. Meaning, you’d be kicked out of here on your ass in a split second. But we do need to watch out for Seth. He may be a boundary-less jackass but he’s not an idiot. He’ll take this information to his advantage. No matter whom it hurts.”

“How long do you think it’ll take for the others to find out?” I asked.

“Depends,” Jesse said. “All of the people we care for here are children. They don’t know much of the Zephyr Court at all. Although, we do have to watch the rebellious thirteen year olds, they like to think they know what is best for everyone better than Elle and I do.

Jesse set down the pile of clothing he had been carrying down on to the cot near me.

“What’s this?” I inquired, rummaging through the stack.

In it was a beautiful corset dress. It looked to be hand stitched. The colors were black and an earthy dark green. Under the dress were black socks, leather boots, a black cloak, and a green ribbon.

“Roxanna’s old sorcerer dress.” Jesse explained. “She has no use for it since she got promoted to a mystic in at her old village. You two seem to be about the same size and this way you can ‘fit in’ easier.”

“Thanks. Who’s Roxanna?” I asked, picking up the dress and pressing it against my body to see if it would fit.

“Roxanna, is the camp mystic healer. She’s like a doctor who heals with herbs, magick, and other natural things. She’s very talented. You’ll probably meet her later.”

I nodded but most of my attention was directed toward admiring the dress.

“I’m going to go have a talk with Seth. You get changed and meet me at the tunnel entrance in fifteen minutes.” Without another word he left, letting the curtain drape back down behind him.

I relaxed breathing a deep sigh.

Finally, alone.

I took off my dirty sweatshirt and jeans, shoving them into my backpack. I put the dress on over my head, letting the skirt of it flow down to my ankles. It fit perfectly. I felt as though I was trying on a Halloween costume. Overwhelmed with a silly feeling of beauty, I swayed back and forth feeling as though I was trying on a Halloween costume. Pulling on the black socks, I noticed the healing wound on my ankle reminding me once more of the insanity I had come across all in just the matter of a day. I covered the scar with the fabric as to tuck away my emotion, and then laced up the boots. Goosebumps raised themselves on my bare arms. The air through the camp was chilly and drafty. I grabbed the cloak and tied it around my neck. The cloth was thick and warm on my skin. I gathered my hair in a pony tail, trying the smooth green ribbon around it to keep it in place. Feeling accomplished with my attire, I paced back and forth building up a fake sense of confidence. I inhaled a deep, comforting breath and exited my tent of solitude.

Locals looked at me still with those elevator eyes but I felt a new sense of respect since my last encounter. I walked tall, hoping that any confidence I had would take away from their suspicions. To my astonishment, the “costume” was actually working.
I continued through the maze of tents, stopping at the fire pit where I had originally met Elle. It seemed deserted now. Jesse was nowhere to be found, Elle either. The snapping of an abandoned fire startled me. Whipping around, I saw a dwindling light coming from the pit. The smoke being created from it was a sickly green color. The smell was the most awful stench I had ever smelled. A combination of rotten eggs and dirty feet wafted into my nostrils. Hairs stood upward on the back of my neck and my eyes began to water. My stomach churned in nauseous circles. Turning away from the fire, I almost bumped into a girl with an armful of jars.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, no my apologies.” She insisted.

“I really have to learn not to sneak up on people.”

Her voice was kind of high pitched, but somehow fit her perfectly. She wore a dress identical to mine only in a dark violet color. Black hair flowed behind her shoulders and down her back. Though, not silky like Jesse’s, but dreaded. Dotted through her hair in no particular order were purple dreadlocks. She was barefoot and her feet were dusty with dirt.

“Roxanna?” I asked carefully, hoping I wasn’t wrong.

She walked slowly over to her work space, crouching down. Her dainty fingers wrapped around a jar and twisted. It made a quiet pop sound. Humming softly, she took a pinch of a grain-like substance and sprinkled it into the fire. The fire coughed out a green puff of smoke.

“Who wants to know? And it’s Roxi. Only Jesse calls me Roxanna.”

I knelt down next to her in the soft dirt. “Sorry, Roxi, then. I’m Naomi.”
“Ah, yes, the new girl.” Roxi stated, not looking up from her work. “You fit in well here with my dress.
Rumors about you have been buzzing around camp since you arrived. You, Miss Naomi, must have a serious death wish.” She spoke so bluntly,
concluding her statement with a sarcastic laugh.

“Excuse me?”

Smoke coughed out of the fire again. Roxi whispered something under her
breath. The smoke calmed down to a sweet smell that was a relief my nose.

“A stranger, like you, waltzing into a sorcerer camp unarmed in the middle of the closest thing we’ve had to genocide since the dark ages.”

“I’m not—“

“Then,” Roxi continued. “hanging around the “queen bee’s” property. By that, I mean Jesse. That all sounds like a death wish to me.”

She looked up from what she was doing to make eye contact with me. Regardless of all of her sarcastic laughs and comments, her relaxed gray eyes were the most welcoming thing I had come across since I had entered this occult world.

“I’m not looking for trouble.” I defended innocently, finally able to get a word in.

“Oh I know.” Roxi added quickly. “But they don’t.” She nodded over to an abundance of children staring at me with curious eyes from behind the nearest tent. When I looked at them they all turned away bashfully and ran off. “Honestly, I could care less if you’re here or not. You seem pretty harmless to me…”

Relief came over me once more. It was nice to know not everyone around here was so wary of my presence.

Before I could wonder what was keeping Jesse he popped up again. His timing was getting impeccable. He placed a hand on Roxi’s shoulder while she continued to work. “Hey Roxanna.”

Jesse seemed anxious about something. He smiled at both of us trying to pass off a feeling that nothing was wrong. I don’t think either of us bought it.

“Could I talk to Naomi?” He asked. Roxi gave him a dirty look as if he was cheating on Elle just by speaking to me. I stood up so he could talk to me.

“Be my guest.” She stated after some time, turning back to her fire, closing her eyes and muttering in a spiritual way.

“Uh, alone?” Jesse insisted.
Roxi paused mid-prayer, her expression flattening. She rolled her gray eyes. “Fine.” Her voice grumbled at the hassle of having to pack up all of her things and move to somewhere else.

She placed each jar gingerly in an old handmade case that resembled a jewelry box. With a huff, she walked off. I heard the jars clinking back and forth as she faded into the tent labyrinth.

Jesse turned to me. I noticed he was gripping his left arm tightly, gritting his teeth. I found the source of his stress. Three deep scratches all the way through his coat, shirt, and skin. This was the second time I had seen Jesse bleed in two day, this time with better lighting, his blood was darker. I wondered if all sorcerers’ blood was like that. Mine wasn’t though, so maybe I wasn’t really a sorcerer. I was never really good with blood or gore but I tried to keep my expression from appearing disgusted.

“Oh my God, are you okay?” I gasped in worry, habitually reaching over to touch his arm to get a better look.

Jesse winced, moving his arm closer to his stomach. He pulled out a cream colored handkerchief out from his inner coat pocket and tenderly wrapped it around the gashes. “Seth and I just got into a little…argument, that’s all. But you needn’t worry about him. He won’t say a word.”

“Are you sure you shouldn’t see a doctor? I mean, uh, Roxi? That doesn’t look like it came from just an argument.”

“I’m fine.” Jesse insisted. He seemed in less pain the more that he spoke.
“Besides, we don’t have time for that. We need to get the mess hall. We’re already late. Uh…you look great, by the way.” Jesse eyed up my wardrobe. “Fits you perfectly.”

“Thanks.” I blushed.

Jesse’s cheeks turned red and he cleared his throat trying to get rid of the awkward moment. “Well, ehem, we should, uh, probably get going.”

“Yeah.” I nodded, letting him lead the way as I concealed a bashful smile.

Jesse led me to the opening of a large canvas tent, much bigger than any of the other living quarters. I felt my heart speed up and my palms perspire. The nervous feeling of being in an unknown place kicking in as a quivering in my veins. Being the gentleman that he was, Jesse let me walk in first. I thought instantly that that might be a mistake but I did as he wanted and stepped inside.
Any conversation was immediately cut off when I made my appearance. I would’ve slipped in quietly and briskly if I had known where to go. Instead, I stood there dumbfounded for a moment. My eyes darted from left to right as they eyed the cautious faces. I felt Jesse touch my back as he tried to slide around me. Everyone stared at the two of us. Slides under a microscope, burning under the hot light. The children had puzzled smiles. They weren’t sure what to think of me or the sudden silence. My breaths echoed loudly in my ears as though I were breathing into a microphone. Any flaw of mine felt exposed, naked, to their eyes.

“You’re both late.” A familiar voice stated angrily from somewhere in the sea of people.


There were several tables in front of Jesse and me. Most of them were rather short and simply made. The wood looked barely sanded and no precisely cut. Many of the tables tilted awkwardly to one side. There was only one substantially taller table, made of a darkened wood with eccentric carvings all through it. The people of the village were separated through the various tables by age. I recognized most of the people at the neatly crafted table as Elle, Seth, Roxi, and that boy that was sitting with them at the fire when I arrived. There were two others that I didn’t recognize, one boy and one girl.

“Sit.” Elle insisted firmly nodding to two empty spaces beside her.
The white noise of chatter began to slowly resume as we followed her demand. I progressed forward, hearing the annoying tap of my boots with each step. I weaved around a guy I didn’t know at the large table and melted into my seat next to Roxi. Jesse plopped down between Elle and me.

“So, Jess, are you going to introduce us to the new girl? Can’t keep them all to yourself you know.” One of the boys teased, and then looked at me.

“Well, since he won’t, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Malachi.”

“Naomi.” I stated smiling pleasantly at him.

Malachi smiled awkwardly at me. His gaze had blue eyes, they weren’t intense but soothing. He had decent teeth but the proportions of his nose were a little bigger than his face. His oval shaped head was surrounded with simple brown, shaggy hair.
Dressed like Seth and Jesse, he seemed to look the nicest out of all of them. A little heavier set, he seemed like a big teddy bear.

“Where did you say you were from?” Malachi asked. I think he was trying to make honest conversation but Jesse took it as an attack, cutting in with.

“A village not far from here.” He lied. “It was raided a couple of nights ago. I figured she needed a place to stay.”

Jesse didn’t seem to trust that I was competent enough to come up with my own lie. Granted, he did know these people a lot better than I did, but I wanted to try and prove my worth, least of all wanting to know that he trusted me. Elle obviously didn’t know the whole story but she knew Jesse was lying even before he spoke. Her suspicious eyes looked at Jesse. Jesse shrugged at Elle with a what-do-you-want-me-to-do-about-it expression plastered to his face. He leaned over to her and whispered something in her ear. The suspicion in her eyes faded as she sunk down in her seat.

Malachi turned to another person and started up another conversation, he didn’t care much about strangers, it seemed.

High pitched sounds of silverware tapping against simple china resonated through my ears but no one at the elder’s table was eating besides Roxi. Roxi scooped her pile of corn shoving simple bites in her mouth. Had they eaten already? That seemed out of order, so far, I had seen a sequence in everything done here. Everything had their place, their stature; alpha and omega.
All the elders were just chattering back and forth. Everyone, that is, besides Seth. He wasn’t talking to anyone. He looked terrible. Slumped over in a submissive way, glaring deadly at me from across the table. His harsh eyes tore into me. Even as I looked away I could still feel the burning heat of his black hole eyes. Unable to keep away, I looked at Seth again. His right eye was covered in an ugly purplish-yellow bruise. Scratches were all over his face, neck, and arms. They were crusty with old blood. I had assumed this was from the “argument” Jesse had gotten his wound from. A nasty fight that I was pretty sure Jesse had won. To keep from starting at Seth any longer to upset him more, I leaned over to Jesse elbowing him to get his attention.

He turned away from Elle and Malachi.

“What is it?”

“Why isn’t anyone eating?” I asked feeling stupid and naïve for not knowing anything that went on around here.

“The elders eat later, after the children have left. That way, we can meet and talk about matters that aren’t for,” He cleared his throat. “children’s ears. We don’t like to worry them when it’s not needed. Anyhow, you’re welcome to join us, you don’t have to eat anything, but I hope you have a strong stomach. You’ll find out why later.”

Strong stomach? What could he possibly mean by that?

To keep off my curiosity, I asked him more questions about topics aside from that. “So how long has this village camp thing been here?”

Jesse pondered that for a minute, gathering the correct words.
“After my caretaker’s village was raided, I met Elle and Seth. They were wanderers. We decided we need to make a more permanent base, somewhere where children could be safe from the oppression of Lucretia. I guess that would be about two years ago.”

“So, you’re like the Peter Pan of this day and age?” I asked, immediately realizing by his puzzled expression that he didn’t grow up with the same childhood stories I did. “Uh, never mind.”

Saved by the bell, a light clinging noise came from outside the mess hall. All the children got to their feet. Giggling and mumbling conversations arose and floated out the door along with the children. An emptiness fell over the camp and the elders seemed to relax more.

“Seth, it’s your turn to serve dinner tonight.” Elle reminded.

As Seth got up from his seat silently a few snickers came from around me, mainly Roxi.

“What happened to your face?” She asked in between chuckles.

A low growl rumbled in Seth’s throat and he rolled his eyes irritatedly. Walking off into the kitchen, he emerged a few minutes later with a covered, tarnished pot. Probably stolen or found from an abandoned village. In the other hand he held cracked and chipped glass bowls. Trudging back to the table he reached over everyone setting down a bowl. He skipped me. Unsure if he spitefully meant to, or if he had to, I bit my tongue. Seth circled the table once more holding a warm pot gingerly in his arms. Dipping the ladle into whatever was in there he globed a generous portion into his own bowl. I wrinkled my nose from the repulsive fleshy scent wafting from both the pot and his bowl. My eyes peered over to his dish of slop. With the steam wafting off his plate I assumed it was some sort of stew. Swimming in a light broth were pieces of warmed meat. As my eyes focused more I came to see that the “brother” was a dark red in color.

“Blood.” I breathed, choking a little on my words.

Where completely cooked pieces of meat should’ve been were rare, almost raw, pink pieces of flesh. As Seth finished dishing everyone up a portion, he rounded the table again setting down tarnished spoons and glasses of water. Looking around, I noticed Seth had skipped Roxi as well as me.

“Looks great.” Elle commented free of sarcasm, reaching out for her spoon and dipping it in her bowl. Jesse and the rest of the elders nodded in agreement, digging in also. Impolite slurping sounds filled the mess hall.

“Malachi, do you or Cevin have any news?”

Malachi looked down to his plate concentrating on his food, he shrugged then turned to whom I guessed was Cevin. He was a short, muscular boy with short blonde hair that curled a little on each end just above his ears. He had a smug smile about him surrounded by scruffs of a blonde beard. Cevin placed his hands on the table pushing himself to a standing position. He brought his hand to his mouth coughing roughly to clear his throat.

“One of the nearby villages was raided two nights ago.” Cevin’s voice was confident and sincere; making any situation sound like it was of the greatest importance. He looked to be a very honest man. His eyes showed a blunt honesty that I hadn’t seen in any sorcerer yet. Despite his honest looks, the information he had just revealed was perfect for the lie Jesse had conjured about my being there. Even though Elle hadn’t bought it, I’m sure it would help with the others’ suspicion.

“There’s absolutely no trace of the poison army.” Cevin continued. “We haven’t been able to find them anywhere. We could be next!” The alarm in his voice sent all the elders into talking out of turn.

“Calm yourself!” Elle silenced the group. Her voice was cool and relaxed, in no panic at all. “We’re perfectly safe. There’s no way Lucretia, or her poison minions will find this place. We’ve lasted for years. We’re smarter than they are. We don’t make the same mistakes as the villages that have been around for generations.”

Cevin growled lowly, sliding back into his seat. I was sure his eyes turned yellow but when I looked at them again they were back to their honest hazel.

“Maybe Cevin’s right.” Malachi chimed in. “We could send out another team to check and be sure the
poison haven’t stuck around. After all, we are responsible for child lives. If he is right, they are in danger, not us. There’s no harm in being thorough.”

“No.” Elle shot firmly, like a bullet had flown out of her mouth straight to Malachi. Her face turned beet red with frustration as she slammed her fists on the table. The silverware leapt up, crashing back down on the rough table surface. “It’s a waste of weapons and man power. Winter is moving in fast and we can’t waste time going on wild goose chases when we should be stocking up for the cold months…for the children.” She paused for a moment then added, “Isn’t that right, Jesse?”

I turned to Jesse seeing him sigh and turn to look at me. “I hate when she does this.” He exhaled bitterly, shedding some light on one of their “behind closed doors” lover’s quarrel. His eyes flipped back and forth between Elle and the table top unsure of what to say, what wouldn’t upset Elle.

“I-I think that Malachi and Cevin are right…We need to make sure we know the poison army isn’t close by. Lucretia’s smart, once she finds this place she’ll have no trouble entering. We should be proactive while we’re still sheltered and safe.”

I thought Jesse made very valid points and a good argument but Elle didn’t seem to think so. She glared at him hostilely; angered that he hadn’t backed her up like she had wanted.

“Fine.” She hissed spitefully.

“Cevin, Malachi assemble another team and scower the vicinity for the poison.”

Cevin and Malachi nodded simultaneously, turning to each other, discussing their search strategy. I heard Malachi say something excitedly about some new gun he had invented. Jesse later told me he was the artillery designer and coordinator. He also said Cevin was the one who paid attention to the army advancements and any news we got about other villages or people.

The discussion at the table appeared to die after that. My stomach groaned and grumbled with hunger. Despite watching their fleshy-feast my appetite had only ceased for a moment. The disgusted nausea morphed into an empty one. I clutched my stomach as pain set in. Jesse looked at me noticing my discomfort.

“I’ll get you something to eat later tonight, I promise.” He whispered in the most sincere voice I had ever heard. It seemed like he felt guilty for making me miss dinner while he was still able to eat.

It was a comforting feeling to be around, at least, one person who cared for my wellbeing. My stepfather surely hadn’t, if I missed diner back home he would have let me starve for the next two days. Jesse was going to say something else to be but Elle, talking loudly to Seth, interrupted him.

“Seth, will you take Naomi back to her tent? Jesse and I need talk. Everyone else, you’re free to go.”

Roxanna, Cevin, Malachi, and the girl I didn’t recognize shuffled to their feet, stacking their dishes randomly in a pile on the end of the table. Astonishingly, the dishes were completely emptied. Everyone finished their dinner.

Elle waited impatiently for Seth to respond. Obviously, escorting the “new girl” was the last thing Seth wanted to do in his spare time. He refrained from rolling his eyes conscious to the fact Elle was still watching him. Though it was hard to respond to a question given in such a stern tone it came out more like an order. He was well aware Elle’s frustration was in no mood for his sarcasm.

“Really, Elle, I don’t need an escort.” I protested trying to play peacekeeper in what felt like a silent warzone. “I can find my way back.”

“I know,” She responded on default. “But I want to make sure you get back all right.”

What the hell was going to come after me? A five year old?

Being a guest in their camp I suppose I had no right to question Elle’s authority or judgment, but something seemed off about her. As if she was trying to hide something, afraid that I would figure out what it was if she lost sight of me. Against my suspicion, I decided to let her win this battle and grin and bear it.

“All right, I suppose I could use some guidance.”

Elle smiled with gratification to my surrender. Seth was not as pleased.

“Seth,” She repeated. “Will you—“

“I know the drill.” He grumbled, rising violently from the table. Whipping his hand back as he stomped away, an angered motion for me to follow. In doing so, he knocked over the dirty dishes with a loud crash. I cringed as the sound of breaking glass met my ears. No remorse seemed to come over him as he eyed the mess on the floor.

“I’ll clean it up.” Elle offered with a phony smile. She was flustered but was too tired to deal with anymore injustices tonight.

“Are you sure?” I asked since Seth hadn’t bothered to. He just folded his arms waiting impatiently to leave.

“Just go…” She insisted with aggravation. Seth took her order as the “okay” to leave. He rushed through the opening in the tent and I hurried along behind him.

The awkward silence was deafening between the two of us. He trudged alone two steps ahead of me at least half of the walk. I was 16 years old with an escort to “hold my hand” through a camp. This was ridiculous. Not including the fact that my “escort” hated my very being. I couldn’t let Elle win. Maybe Seth knew something about her that I didn’t. Something to make things make sense. Even something I could hold over her perfect little head. Figuring out this information would, unfortunately, include talking to Seth. A task I now dreaded more than ever. About halfway through the camp I gained more courage to say something to him. Little did I know, this was the wrong question to open with.

“You got beat up pretty badly...Was it from Jesse?”

“You think?” Seth shot back
frustrated, keeping his steady pace ahead of me. He pulled a roughly rolled cigarette from his pocket, stopping only to light it. This was my chance to catch up and talk to him. Seth’s lips wrapped around the butt of the cigarette and he inhaled long and slow like this was his only possible relief from stress.

“What are you staring at? Never seen a guy smoke before?”

The smoke trailed out his mouth and nostrils as he held the cigarette idly between his index and middle finger.

“No, I mean yes, I mean…why do you think Elle is acting so strangely? Like asking you to guide me around?”

My second mistake, dropping the question too soon.

Seth whipped around, barreling me into the nearest wall. In his hand he gripped a knife, pressing it to my throat. I swallowed hard, the blade taunting my skin. The knife was nothing like my stepfather’s, dull and rusty, but it brought back nervous memories all the same. As Seth breathed heavily, the stale scent of his breath made me gag.

“You are the last person I want to be speaking to after you sent Jesse on my ass. I don’t know why Elle is being how she is and frankly, I don’t give a damn. Just leave me alone.”
Seth’s voice drifted deeper into his corpse eyes. My eyes strayed away from him to anything else I could focus on. Anything but those eyes.

“All right.” I agreed, flickering back and forth between eye contact and a couple of tents behind him. “I won’t bother you anymore.”

I knew Seth wouldn’t hurt me, he couldn’t hurt me. Not without regretting it, he couldn’t. The resemblance between Seth and my stepfather was broken. Seth was a temperamental teenager, frustrated with the world but he was all talk. I wasn’t sure he could hurt a fly.

“Damn right you won’t.” He huffed, releasing pressure off the blade.
“You can find your way back by yourself.”

I coughed gathering fresh air as he walked away. He’s right, I could get back on my own. As I told Elle before, I don’t need an escort.

Seth and I never spoke again after that incident. We exchanged disapproving glares every so often but never again did we speak or get near each other, unless it was absolutely necessary. Little did I know, soon enough, I would never even see him again.

As a few more weeks wore on, I had gotten into a certain routine. Jesse would wake me up when breakfast was ready. I’d get dressed in my “sorcerer” dress and walk to the mess hall to eat. Since my first night in the camp, I had never been late for a meal.

Roxanna had taken a strange interest in me as, not only a friend, but my mentor. After breakfast, she would take me out into the forest to help her search for new or seasonal herbs and ingredients for her latest medicines and remedies. She had insisted that I remove my shoes as we harvested so as not to upset the balance of “something or another”. I forget what exactly. I never understood how in the middle of fall her feet never got cold wandering about in the forest. Mine always felt clammy and even frost bitten. To my astonishment, I never got sick and my feet never suffered permanent damage.

Harvesting took up most of the morning hours so by the time I returned it was time for lunch. Lunch was a much more laid back atmosphere than suppertime. Everyone was able to eat at the pace they wanted and were allowed leave when they wanted. All serious conversations were withheld until dinner. My lunch usually consisted of bread, cooked fish, and some sort of fruit.

After lunch, I’d help the children wash the dishes. Everyone had to pull their own weight around here if things were to go smoothly. More often than not, children as young as four were in the kitchen, kneeling on the floor with their tiny hands in soapy water cleaning dirty dishes from a previous meal.

Jesse assigned me to oversee one specific four year old who couldn’t quite grasp the basics of washing dishes. She’d rather play with the water and bubbles. Her name was Aura. Jesse told me no one knew her name originally. Roxanna had found her abandoned during one of her harvests. She was hungry and alone, a toddler of only two at the time. Roxanna decided to call her “Aura” because there was always a good, honest, and pure aura about her. After about a year with them the elders discovered that she was becoming blind. They assumed the after math of a raid in her home.

“Look Mimi!” Aura squealed with delight. She had told me she didn’t like my name so she was going to call me “Mimi”. I didn’t protest too much I thought it was cute and that she would grow out of it eventually.

“What is it, Aura?” I asked, kneeling beside her and her bucket.

“All clean!” She shouted holding up a plate with a successful smile.

Her red hair was covered with
bubbles and water, as was her little dress. I smiled, not having the heart to tell her the plate was still covered with pieces of dried food.

“Looks great, Aura. Why don’t you add that to the stack for Malachi to dry and we’ll get you cleaned up.”

“Okay!” Aura felt around for my hand, grasping it tightly when she found it.

She placed the plate on the stack awkwardly. Malachi looked up from his work of drying dishes, seeing that the one on top was still dirty. Instead of getting upset, he smiled and nodded to me as if to tell me he’d take care of it. I mouthed “thank you” to him and led Aura back to her tent.

I got Aura cleaned up almost every day then send her off to go play with the other kids while I straightened up around my tent. The backpack I had brother from home was tucked away safely in the old trunk at the end of my cot. Every so often when I knew I was alone, I’d open the trunk and pull out the picture of my mom, Sienna, and me. Aura reminded me so much of Sienna. Cute, innocent, perfect. Their resemblance crossed my mind often. I was always thinking about Sienna, wondering if she was okay or if I’d ever see her again. As much as I missed her and my mother, I never left that picture up on display so as not to alarm the others. I’d conceal the photo back in my backpack and go back to making my bed.

By the time all my chores were completed, dinner was ready to be served. I always showed up punctually, taking my seat between Jesse and Roxi. Against Elle’s wishes of trying to keep me apart from Jesse, of course. Roxi and I ate when the children did while the rest of the elders waited patiently. It was nice to not be the only “oddball” in the group. Though I didn’t understand why they would take warmed flesh stew over these delicious meals.

Malachi and Cevin’s search party for the poison always seemed to come up short. The army never left any trace of where they were. We were walking blindly. I could tell that Cevin and Malachi liked to have the upper hand on whatever challenge faced them but Elle was becoming impatient with their failed expeditions. It was an ego boost for her to be right, yet again. Dinner this night, would decide if they should keep searching.

Roxi and I ate our food as we chatted about herbs she had discovered. She said she was working on a new serum for scars and that, if it worked, she would help me get rid of that nasty scar on my cheek.

The first bell sounded quietly and
all the children rushed out. This was all just another day in the life of a sorcerer village, or so I thought. Malachi served dinner for the rest of the elders. They all ate politely as they began debating about the poison.

“Might as well give up.” Seth said, putting his two cents in. He almost participated in these debates.
Everyone was shocked to hear him speak without being spoken to.

“Sadly, I’m inclined to agree.” Cevin sighed.

Elle had an expression of delight on her face. Like I said, this kind of victory was a boost in morale and loyalty to her in the future.

“Now, that we’ve done this unneeded escapade, can we move on and start gathering for winter?” Elle asked, knowing no one had any argument against her.

All the elders sighed and nodded, including Jesse.

After supper when all the children were sent to their tents to play just before bedtime, and while Elle was busy tending to other things, Jesse made time to come into my tent and check on me. Not as a parent, but as a friend. He’d sit beside me just to talk. Make sure I was adjusting smoothly. One of my nights in the camp I decided to show him the picture of my mother and Sienna.

“It’s perfect.” He commented, that night, though his voice didn’t seem convincing.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, putting the photo away in case anyone came to find me or Jesse.

“As dangerous as that kind of memorabilia is,” Jesse began with a sad expression. “I don’t really know what my parents looked like, besides their wedding photo in my caretaker’s old home.”

“I’m sorry,” I replied, offering sympathy. “I don’t know what my dad looks like either, or who he is.”

Jesse’s hardened, macho exterior returned. “Yeah, well, just keep it hidden. All right? Wouldn’t want you to lose that.”

I nodded in agreement. Glad to see the side of Jesse that wasn’t so on guard, even if it was only for a moment.

“You should rest.” Jesse stated. “It’s getting late and I need to find Elle.”

I nodded, smiling at him as he stepped out of the tent. Lying backwards on my cot, I exhaled. An overwhelming sense of security came over me. For once, I was starting to feel accepted. In a few weeks, I was a totally new person: confident and living for a purpose. Years of abuse and hurt were finally starting to heal. I was still given responsibility, but I was allowed to live for me. Something that was completely new to me since my stepfather came to be in charge of the house. My heart and mind felt at peace for once. With knowing those things, I could allow myself time for a restful sleep. The comforting thoughts willing me into dreamland…


“Let me go!” Sienna screamed. She was squirming and whining to get a poison’s grip off of her wrist.

“Just follow quietly, child, and I promise no harm will come to you.” The poison seemed frustrated, a different side of the creatures that was rarely shown. Nothing but anger on the outside… “The mistress wouldn’t like to hear about your disobedience, again.”

Sienna bit her lip, whimpering in fear of “The Mistress”. She didn’t look cute and innocent anymore. Sienna’s hair wasn’t perfect. It was mangled and gnarled like a rat had started making a home there. Her eyes weren’t childish anymore. She had seen too much and the bags under them screamed for restful slumber.

The nasty poison continued to force her down a hall to a new dungeon cell. Unlocking the door, the poison had revealed a cramped room. The walls were lined in dirty, rusty spikes. Cobwebs decorated the walls and there was a dead mouse lying in one corner. Sienna gasped in horror as her eyes locked on what was sure to be her fate. To bed, no windows, just a small gap in the door lined in metal bars.

“This will be your new home.” The poison hissed in Sienna’s ear, pushing her into the cell. “Until we need your assistance, or when your behavior changes. That’s what The Mistress said.”

Sienna fell to her knees, skinning one on the floor. She began to weep silently frustrated with what was around her she cried. “No, no, no…I can’t stay here! I want my sister! I want to see Naomi!”

“You will. In time.” The poison answered. “You’ll see her very very soon…”

The cell door slammed shut. The thunk of the lock locking echoed throughout Sienna’s cell. Sienna poked her face into the window of the door screaming in a terrified shriek. “Naomi! No! I want to see Naomi! Naomi!...Naomi…Naomi…”

***

“Naomi…NAOMI!” The loud sound of someone calling my name awoke me from my nightmare.

“Hmm…huh?” My eyes slowly opened to see Roxi standing over me. She looked on edge. Her dreadlocks were tied back in a loose ponytail and her eyes looked scared to death. “What is it?”

“Something is wrong.” She hissed in a hoarse whisper her eyes darting left to right. Roxi had never been the most normal being in the camp but this was out of character even for her.

I sat up in bed, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders and rubbing my eyes of crusty residue. Roxi began to pace back and forth. My tired eyes could hardly keep up with her movements.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“I-I-I don’t know.” She said, frazzled. “Something doesn’t feel right. Something bad is going to happen. I just, I can feel it, okay?”

“Maybe you had a nightmare?” I offer up as a solution, trying to calm her and let myself get back to sleep. I certainly had a nightmare, that’s for sure.

Roxi continued to pace restlessly. Her forehead was dripping in sweat from nervousness, fear, and God knows what else. I patted a spot on my cot, next to me, for her to sit down and relax. Taking a second shot at a solution I asked,

“Have you tried telling Jesse or Elle?”

Roxi nodded. “I tried but—“

A gunshot broke her explanation. We both looked to my doorway. An expression of sheer terror and confusion plastered was across Roxi’s face. I’m sure my own was similar.

“They’ve found us…” Roxanna croaked almost inaudibly.

I began to ask who had found us but
I stopped myself because I already knew the answer. As much as I didn’t want to think it, I knew who had found us. The poison had come…
Urgency came over us as a second gunshot went off. Even if you have never heard a gunshot, the second you hear one you’ll never forget. A couple of screams and sheiks
resonated throughout the camp. I got up out of bed putting my shoes on. As I was tying my second boot Roxi darted out of my tent.

“Roxi…ROXANNA!” I screamed trying to stop her.

“I need to protect the kids!” She called back, never stopping. I knew she was only going to look out for one specific child…Aura.

The elders had never discussed with me what to do in the case of poison attack. To my knowledge, there was only one way in and out of camp and that was the tunnel. Surely that was blocked by now. I could smell something burning. They must have set fire to the surrounding tents. If only I could make my way to mess hall, maybe someone would be there. As soon as I mustered up the courage to run out, Jesse flew in.

“We need to go NOW! Elle’s waiting at the escape route, don’t grab anything I’ve already got provisions”

I looked back to the dusty chest…my picture…

“Just forgot about it, we don’t have time. It’s not worth your life! We need to leave!”

He grabbed my wrist tightly yanking me out of my tent. My heart pounded loudly in my ears. I had never run so fast in my life. We had been released into Dante’s Inferno. Tents were ablaze with flames. The entire camp thick with heat, smoke and screams. An experience my sense would never forget. I didn’t see any poison but I wasn’t looking any either.

“Save your breath.” Jesse ordered at me. “The smoke is going to make it hard to…breathe.” Inadvertently emphasizing his point as he coughed in between words. As we continued I saw a figure of Elle in the smoke.

“Hurry!” She cried, motioning us to her.

We met up in an area where the smoke was beginning to clear. Elle was leaning against a stone wall.

Despite all that was going on around us, Elle seemed rather calm, satisfied even, with the situation. How could she be calm while her home, her family was going up in smoke? As soon as Jesse got to Elle,
the relaxedness was gone. In its place were staged fear and panic.

“Why isn’t the escape open?” Jesse asked, looking back into the flames to make sure no one was coming.

“Shouldn’t we go back for the kids?” I offered, feeling in a heap of guilt that we were the only ones outside of the smoke.

“No,” Elle said. “that’s the job Cevin, Malachi, and Seth were assigned. Our job was to get the provisions.” She raised a few burlap sacks stuffed with supplies. “As furor the door, it won’t open.”

Jesse sighed, like it was a task that was impossible to screw up. “Let me try.”

Jesse touched the wall with his index and middle fingers, closing his eyes, and hissing a few words under his breath.

Nothing happened.

“What the hell! Why isn’t anything happening?” Jesse thrust his fists against the stone, cracking it on impact. I was in awe at the strength he displayed.

“I don’t know…” Elle replied defeated.

“There’s got to be another way out!” I suggest more desperately than positively.

“There isn’t.” Elle insisted. “Not unless we go to the tunnel, which we will most surely be killed.

“Well we can’t just stay here
burning or choking to death!” I argue.

Gunshots fired off once more from the other end of camp. Shrieks and snarls came to follow adding more urgency to the situation.

“Let me try.” I say, remembering my moment of magickal strength at the creek.

I stepped in front of Jesse and Elle. Exhaling a long breath, I relaxed by body as much as possible. Closing my eyes, I could still see the flames flickering around me but I ignored them. The unsettling noises slowed, echoing in my head. My sweaty palms wrapped around my mother’s charm and my fingers traced the edges like always when I was nervous. My other hand touched the wall where Jesse had cracked it.
“Spare us.” I whispered desperately.
Those two words was all it took. A carved doorknob pushed its way between the rocks as if to say “you’re free to go”. Energy had gone through my fingertips and left my body. The most exhilarating feeling I had ever experienced. I turned to Jesse and Elle, both their jaws hitting the dirt, surprised I was capable of doing anything like that. Though, Elle’s face read astonished, where as Jesse’s read impressed. A choking feeling came over me, followed by coughs as smoke filled my lungs, breaking my triumphant moment.

Jesse twisted the rock knob pushing it inward revealing a tunnel that didn’t look like it had been used in years. Cobwebs dangled from every place possible and dust glittered in the air. Elle ran inside, no problem, to a dark staircase a little ways into the tunnel. Apprehensive about following, I hesitated. Faint screams still oscillated through camp. I turned to see where they may be coming from.

“Go!” Jesse demanded. “The rest of the elders and children will be fine.”

He pushed me forward gently though I dashed into the tunnel and up the staircase without another thought. Jesse shut the door behind us. I could tell because the light disappeared. Elle made it to the top of the stairs about the same time Jesse shut the door, so it wasn’t dark for long. She opened a hidden hatch in the ceiling letting in the moonlight and the crisp night air. I just wanted to get out of this tunnel as fast as I could.
Claustrophobic, petrified, and lost were the feelings that scared and drove me. I hardly knew what was going on anymore. I just wanted to get out.

As I climbed out of the hatch it felt like I was being reborn. My lungs breathing in the clear, clean, smoke-free air. The world around me was peaceful, silent. Gentle and empty as the night I had arrived. No life-form above the ground knew of the hellish nightmare going on beneath their feet. No one but the three of us, that is.

Jesse crawled out behind me, shortly after. I could tell he was overcome with the same emotions and feelings I had.

“I’m sorry, mom and dad.” He whispered discouraged, bowing his head and dropping to his knees. I had no clue what he meant when he said that, but I wasn’t about to ask, not now. Jesse’s shoulders shook as he sobbed quietly.

I looked at him, then Elle, then to the sky. How could things be so calm up there?

After a few minutes, Jesse gathered his bearings and wiped his eyes. “I thought you said we were safe from the poison.” He shot coldly at Elle, glaring at her with a fierceness I had never seen. “Does this look safe to you?”

I thought it was impossible for Jesse to stand up to Elle without cringing afterwards. Elle had always seemed like the alpha. Guess I was wrong. Though this didn’t seem like a moment of pride for Jesse, but desperation.

“We were.” Elle replied without hesitation.

Jesse got to his feet to be level with her. “‘We were’? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Once you brought that sorcerer and her amulet here no one was safe!” She spoke open and spitefully, like
I wasn’t around.

“Amulet? What amulet?” Jesse asked. All anger from him subsided. He seemed to be more confused now than anything.

Elle was the opposite, she was still fuming so much she could hardly speak. “Th-Th-That one she wears around her neck all the time!”

When had she seen my amulet? I wondered. Even now during all the commotion it was hidden under my clothes, aside from the chain.

“Don’t go placing the blame on me.” I countered, feeling like it was a shot in the dark. I honestly didn’t know if the attack was mine or my “amulet’s” fault, but Elle’s attitude towards me was getting extremely old.

“Why not?” Elle shrugged. “That crystal probably calls to Lucretia.”
That was the last straw. I stepped forward in a threatening manner. She had no right to insult my mother’s possessions like that. Before I could make matters worse, Jesse stepped in.”

“Ladies, please. I don’t know of any amulet and frankly I don’t care. We can finish this cat fight later. Right now, we need to get the shelter and check on any survivors.”

“Fine.” Elle and I huffed simultaneously.

“Good.” Jesse stated like he needed the final word on the matter.

He walked over to a pile of leaves, dirt, and pine needles underneath a pine tree. Gliding his foot cautiously over the pile, he pushed away the brush with his foot. Tapping his toe up and down he was listening for something. After a little effort a faint thud echoed back beneath his foot.

“Found it.”

Jesse squatted down taking a key from his pocket and pushing it into the ground. With an effortless twist, several clicks came to follow. Elle and I remained quiet while Jesse pressed his ear to the ground, listening for danger.

“It’s clear.” He declared moments after listening. “By clear, I mean, empty.”

“Empty? What do you mean?” Elle asked, walking closer to Jesse.

“Empty. Deserted. No one is in the shelter.” Jesse clarified.

My heart froze.

No one survived?

Roxi? Aura? Malachi? Cevin?...The children? Anyone?

“No…” Elle breathed in disbelief.

She dropped to her knees pulling the hatch to the shelter open. She seemed desperate to find someone alive. To ease her own conscience, I imagined. She jumped into the shelter, I heard her feet as they hit the ground. Jesse followed quickly behind her, keeping his guard up in case the emptiness of the shelter was a trap of some kind. I dropped down in behind him.

The “shelter” was really more like a pit. A hole in the ground, no bigger than a small bedroom. Everything was made of dirt or wood. The floors were dirt, the walls were dirt. The only form of furniture was a bare wooden shelf plastered to the wall somehow and a lantern on the wall for light. By the looks of it, I don’t think they ever planned to use the shelter. How were they supposed to? Only so many people can fit in such a little space. The area around me seemed more like a grave and less like a sanctuary.

“Hello?” Jesse yelled in a whisper, unable to see the corners of the room in the minimal light. “Is anyone here?”

Giving me a mini-heart attack, a figure moved through the shadows, crawling helplessly on the ground.

“Jesse? Elle?” A raspy, lifeless
voice asked.

Jesse lit a match by snapping his fingers, lighting the cobweb decorated lantern that dangled off the wall.

“Roxanna!” Jesse exclaimed.

He and Elle ran to her side. New light displayed a fragile, almost disturbing being. This creature looked nothing like Roxi, except her clothes. Her skin clung to her bones like latex and her hair was gray and frizzy. All color from her was gone. Rosy cheeks were now pale porcelain. Hazel eyes became dull red marbles.

“Where is everyone?” Elle asked,
taking Roxi’s skeletal hand, trying to keep her calm.

“We couldn’t fight them off…” Roxi coughed, she was having difficulty breathing. “So many…so strong…and they had guns this time…The children…” She coughed again heavily.
Jesse handed Elle a canteen full of water to give to Roxi. Elle tilted Roxi’s head forward and poured some water into her parched, breathless mouth.

“Drink up.” Elle said soothingly. “God, what happened to you?”

Roxi swallowed hard, clearing her throat to speak. With difficulty, she continued. “The children were taken…I tried to protect them, I really did…but they attacked me to. I stepped backwards on a black rose Seth had used…”

My eyes went to Roxi’s feet. She was still barefoot. The very thing that was supposed to protect her and keep her in balance was now leading to her demise. Roxi clenched in pain, closing her eyes. An involuntary tear fell from her eye.

“The poison is already overthrowing my own thoughts…I can’t go on much longer like this, it hurts…Please just kill me now…It’s a promise I made when I denied a venom syre.”

What in the world was a venom syre?

“No…” Elle breathed in horror.

The three of us watched as Roxi hacked and wheezed violently. The only true friend I had in the sorcerer camp was dying before my eyes and I couldn’t stop it.

“Isn’t there a cure?” I pleaded.

This wasn’t fair to Roxi. She had done nothing wrong to anyone, always friendly. I know Elle and her were very close. The look in Elle’s eyes was genuine this time. She was just as frantic for answers as I was, if not more.

“None that we know of…” Jesse finally sighed, bowing his head in defeat. “Either way, Roxanna will die by our hand or the poison’s. Right now, she’s being tortured…”

“Please,” Roxi rasped, reaching for Elle’s hand. “I’d rather die by your hands, not theirs. Don’t let me go like this, Elle. I’m scared…”

Tears poured down Elle’s face, her lip quivering as she tried to reply. She knew there was nothing that could be done for her friend. “I know…I’m scared to…”

Jesse walked slowly over to Roxi, picking her up, and carrying her in his arms. Roxi closed her eyes, trying to relax with all the pain she was in. He walked her towards the door solemnly, hating what he had to do. Just before Jesse exited the tent, Roxi’s eyes snapped open.

“Naomi!” She shouted weakly.

I ran to her side. “What is it?”

“I never found Aura, I never saw her get taken away either. Will you check the camp once more in the morning and see if she’s there?”

I nodded in agreement, the least I could do for her was respect her final wishes. Jesse didn’t protest, as much as it looked like he wanted to. I felt a lump forming in my throat as Roxi forced a smile.

“You’ll be happy where you’re going…” I promised, not sure of what sorcerers believed in after they died. I just felt obligated to say something, anything to make her feel better. “The herbs and ingredients you could ever hope for.”

Roxi smiled once more, she was so strong I hadn’t seen her shed many tears, and now I never would. I looked up to her.

“Thank you, Naomi…but that’s not exactly what I believe. I’ve done my purpose here and I’m ready to move on…”

Elle’s sobbing became louder every time Roxi spoke. She couldn’t handle the thought of losing someone, especially her best friend. The same way I would cry if I ever found out Lynn passed away. Unfortunately, this showed me how terrible I must have made Lynn feel by running away, abandoning her…

“Don’t cry, Elle.” Roxi wheezed. “I know you’re stronger than that. I don’t want anyone crying over me.”

Elle sniffled, fighting back another wave of tears from coming down.

“You’re a good soldier and a good sorceress, Roxanna.” Elle finally said. “And a good friend…”

Roxi forced another smile through her pain. “Thank you…C’mon Jesse, let’s get this over with.”

Elle and I stepped back as Jesse carried Roxi out of the shelter so we wouldn’t have to watch. As soon as they were out of sight, Elle let her wall fall again, continuing to cry. I wasn’t sure how to even begin to comfort her. She plopped down on the ground, knees to her chest, shoulders shaking. I took a seat beside her, placing a hand on one of her quivering shoulders. All was finalized with a faint scream just loud enough for us to hear…

Jesse trudged in respectful remorse back to the shelter. His green eyes lost in the deed he had done. He was wiping his mouth with a make-shift cloth handkerchief. When he was finished, he shoved the handkerchief aimlessly into his pocket. Jesse whisked past me weightlessly and stood before Elle who was still curled up on the floor sobbing. He placed a strong, gentle hand on hers, pulling her carefully to her feet. She tried to hide her tear stained eyes in the flickering shadows, but it was no use. Jesse saw right through her, just like he did to everyone else. He wrapped his arms around her, soothingly rubbing her back. Elle sniffed a few times trying to regain composure. Jesse softly put his lips to hers, then kissed her hair while whispering comforting words.

I felt a little jealous watching the two of them. My stepfather being the way he was I had no time for boyfriends, no one to pick me up when I was down. Only one who kicked me when I was down. Always on my own, fending for myself. I was barely used to having friends. Despite my jealousy, when it all came down to it, I wasn’t sure I could trust enough to love.

“Roxi was my best friend…” Elle's weak voice whimpered, hinting towards anger.

“I know, I know…” Jesse shushed her. “But you know it had to be done and I promise it was painless. Roxi won’t suffer anymore.”

Elle wiped her nose with her sleeve, nodding. Jesse kept his arms loosely around her.

“Naomi?” Jesse beckoned. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Sure, anything.” I responded.

“Go out and gather some firewood…we’ll need to keep warm tonight.”

Knowing full well Jesse just wanted some alone time with Elle, I complied. Heading out the door way into the autumn twilight.

“Oh, Naomi” I heard Jesse call from inside. “If you get into any trouble, scream like your life depends on it.”

“It probably does.” I grumbled.

I was feeling cranky and tired. Traumatic was the only word I could think of to describe the events I had experienced. I Had no idea what time it was but I knew it was late, or early, depending on how you looked at it.

The night’s cold bit at my hands and face mercilessly, as I gathered twigs and branches for the fire. Crickets chirped loudly, hidden in the dirt and rocks around me. I was nervous, I didn’t want to be alone in the dark, not now. What if a poison was still lurking around? Or a wild animal? Cautiously, I collected as much wood as I could carry and scurried back to the shelter.


When I returned, Elle was preparing food even though all threw of us had just eaten supper house before. Jesse was brushing a white salt-like substance into a little leather pouch and placed it in Elle’s bag gingerly. Feeling the weight of the firewood weighing down my arms, I piled it in the center of the room.

Elle seemed calmer now. Her eyes were still red and her face remained tear stained but I think she was done crying. She was focused on cutting apart a small piece of raw meat for Jesse and herself. She handed me a carrot. I looked at her confused, wondering why she gave me a vegetable of all things. I took it with a false graciousness and nibbled on it to occupy myself.

I took a seat on the dirt floor, leaning on the wall opposite of Elle. Jesse sat beside Elle, wrapping his arm around her. She leaned into him, huddling close. Jesse flicked a lit match into the fire, muttering a few words, he used magick to help it spread. The warmth from the flames felt good on my cold skin.

The other two seemed impartial to the new source of warmth. After finishing her snack, Elle had dozed off curled up in the comfort of Jesse’s strong arm. With his free hand, Jesse was rummaging through his bag pulling out a bottle of absinthe. Somehow, he managed to open the bottle and drink it without any difficulty. He gazed into the fire as he swallowed each sip, empty and lost.

The way he drank, took me back to a time with my stepfather…


It was about a week after my mom had passed away. Everyone, including myself, was still in shock, but I had to remain strong for Sienna’s sake. I was fourteen at the time and Sienna was five. My stepfather acted ancient, decaying. He just laid around in bed all day for that whole week, limp like a dishrag, depressed, and pathetically drunk. Bottles of whiskey were lined up on the floor like army men. If I said that when my mom was alive that my stepfather was a kind and gentle person, I don’t think anyone would have believed me. He was, at one point, a decent man but everything changed when my mom died. His whole world had shattered. Little did I know, trying to help was like poking at a ticking time bomb.

“Shouldn’t you get up and go for a drive? Or go back to work?” I suggested gently, I wasn’t sure how fragile the situation really was to him. “Or go for a walk maybe? It’s really nice outside.”

My stepfather didn’t reply for a long time. He just rolled over, pretending I wasn’t there.

The room smelled dirty and musky like he hadn’t bathed in weeks, or cleaned anything. Dust clung to the bedside table, the headboard, and any where else that it could collect. The window remained shut leaving no source of fresh air. A foggy, smog type feeling overcame the space just screaming depression.

I waited a while before speaking again. “Or go play with Sienna, she needs you right now. You should really be with her…”

My stepfather rolled off his bed to his feet. As he staggered forward he knocked over a few of the glass bottles, breaking them at the neck sending shattered glass across the wood floor. His bare feet crunched more glass as he continued to step toward me. The shards underneath his feet didn’t seem to phase him. His gray eyes tried to focus on me but they couldn’t. He didn’t seem to be able to focus on anything.

I didn’t know what my stepfather was planning to do, I had never seen him express so much anger and hatred while still maintaining the ability to be numb. A lost brick wall lumbering in my direction.

“Don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t do.” He slurred spitefully.

I felt a nervous sweat appearing in my palms. I was beyond petrified and I wasn’t about to point out how childish what he had just said sounded.

“I-I’m sorry.” I stammered, unsure what he wanted of me. I just wanted to run out of the room but my feet wouldn’t let me. Against my will, a prisoner of my own fear, I held my ground.

My stepfather raised his large, beefy hand and struck me across the face. I fell to the ground, stunned at what just had occurred. Biting my lip, I told myself not to scream or cry. I breathed heavily easing the pain.

To my horror, a shadow grew across the floor from the doorway. Sienna was standing there with a puzzled expression. Something in me was hoping, praying that she hadn’t seen him hit me. Her dad meant everything to her, I couldn’t have this incident ruin that. It was my fault for bugging him anyway…

“Daddy, why is Naomi on the floor? And why did the bottles break?” Sienna asked innocently, running over to her father and hugging his legs.

“Naomi is all right.” He glared at me while patting Sienna’s back. “She just fell…”

A simple lie that was enough to satisfy Sienna. I knew I should have left that day but I was scared. Scared about how my life would change if I left. Scared that Sienna was my responsibility since her dad gave up the fight. Somehow I ended up lasting two years, putting up with the yelling and the beatings but the blood was too much.


Jesse brought me out of my memories with his voice. Something in my eyes must have worried him. “Naomi, are you all right?”

“No, I mean yeah, I mean…I’m fine.” I stammered. Quickly thinking of something to throw in that I had been thinking about so he wouldn’t be so suspicious. “I’m just worried about Aura. She could be alone out there.”

Jesse stroked Elle’s hair lovingly as she breathed steadily in a deep sleep. “We’ll search the remains tomorrow, I’m pretty sure Elle wants to see the extent of the damage. But I can’t promise you we will find Aura…the poison are cruel beasts.”

“I know…” I sighed, remembering my promise to Roxi.

We sat in silence for a moment, not awkward, but just enjoying each others company. The fire burned down to a glowing ashes. Jesse poked at it a few times with a stick to get the fire going again.

“Could you drop in a few more pieces of wood?” He asked, gesturing to he fact he couldn’t move because Elle was laying on him.

I smiled and nodded, doing as he asked. The fire grew back in an instant.

“Naomi, can I ask you something?”

“Uh…sure.” I replied unsure what he could possibly want to know at this instant. From the sound in his voice he seemed more curious than serious.

“Why do you fear you father so much?”

“He’s not my father.” I corrected loud enough to make Elle stir in her sleep. “And I don’t fear him.”

Jesse shook his head. “Don’t lie to me, does he drink?”

I avoided his eyes making the mistake of focusing on his absinthe instead, nodding in reply.

“Look,” He began, right to the point of his question. “if my drinking bothers you, just say the word. I won’t do it around you.”

“No, no.” I refused, surprised he even offered to do that for me. “You can’t censor yourself around me. Go about your living style. Don’t let me get in the way.”

Jesse did his best to remove his coat without waking Elle. Draping it over her gently, she cuddled up to him, smiling in her sleep.

“Are you sure? I see they way you look at it…”

“Yes I’m sure.”

Jesse asked more questions about my life and I tried as best I could to answer them. I honestly had no reason to keep secrets anymore. I explained about my stepfather and what he had done to me. I explained about how life was with my mother and little sister. Jesse just sat there, hanging on to my every word and keeping eye contact at all times. For some reason, his gaze wasn’t off putting or awkward, it was comforting. It was a nice feeling to talk about myself for a change, especially to such a great listener.

“Wow, life must have been very hard for you.” Jesse said, doing his strange habit of running his fingers through his hair.

“Not until my mom died.” I replied. “I knew my stepfather had always had some sort of issue with me but I didn’t know what. At first, I thought it was because I was a teenager. Turns out, its because I’m not his child. He would never do anything to Sienna but the smallest damn thing I do wrong he would abuse me.”

“That’s favoritism to an extreme.” Jesse commented. “Although, I’d doubt my that my village was a better environment to be in.”

“No, actually it was great.” I replied with a small smile, reminiscing about all the good times with Jesse, Roxi, and Aura in the camp. “I almost felt accepted there…though now, it’s not exactly what I had been hoping for.”

Jesse changed his tone immediately. His eyes and expression because very dark and serious. “You do understand this isn’t a game, don’t you? You can’t just join and quit whenever you want to.”

“Well, yes I know. But—“

He cut me off by snapping, “Roxanna is dead and I had to kill her! Seth is dead and God knows who else! My village is destroyed and I couldn’t stop it! I’m lucky I still have Elle. And you should feel lucky you got out with your life! I’ve lived there two years with almost no problems, and I still don’t even know how in the hell those poison got in…”

Elle stirred in Jesse’s arms while he raised his voice. I bit my lip hoping she’d settle down and go back to sleep. Thankfully, she did, getting comfortable by snuggling her head in his chest.

“Jesse, I’m sorry.” I apologized, unsure of what to say exactly. “I shouldn’t have asked you to bring me along. Though, after what you told me about mom, home wouldn’t be ‘home’ anymore.”

Jesse sighed, exasperatedly, frustrated with the whole world. “I know, I know. And this is my fault. But if you’re with us, you need to be here to stay. Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

I didn’t really have a choice to his question.

The sky was dark and glittered with stars outside a dismal brick, castle-like building. Wind didn’t rustle through the trees, nor wildlife utter any sound.

A poison flew through the window of the north facing tower. In its boney hand it held a whimpering, terrified little boy by the collar of his shirt. He fought the poison’s grip wildly, flailing his legs back and forth.

“Oh , quiet down!” The dark woman scolded the child as she entered with her loud clicking shoes. “No one wants to hear your constant whining.”

She snapped her fingers. A rusty cage, similar to the one that held Sienna originally, flew into the room. The cage held the other exhausted, petrified children from the camp. Aura and Sienna were not in attendance.

“Put him with the rest.”

“Yes Mistress.” The poison complied in its demonic voice, opening the cage. The imprisoned children stepped backwards, pressing against one another trying to be the farthest away from the door—of a circular cage.

“Did you find what we were looking for?” The lady asked while she fiddled with a rose ring on her finger, showing a feeling of nervousness as she waited for an answer.

“No madam, the item in question is gone.”

“What about Estelle? Did you see her?”

“No miss, she was long gone when we arrived.” The poison replied bowing its head accepting any punishment the “Mistress” may give.

The Mistress looked confused. “I do not understand. If she knew we were coming then where did she go? Why did she not stay?”

The poison bowed its head once more, cringing in fear of being struck for not having a response.

“I-If I’m not so bold, Mistress, leaving her with them so long, she may have become…attached to those sorcerers.”

Angered, the woman raised her hand to the poison as if to strike her but she brought her hand down gracefully. She became overcome with a new realization.

“No,” The Mistress stated exhaling her frustrations. “Actually, you are right… With that being said, I have a mission for you. It is time we being Estelle home…tomorrow. Ready your best team, I am leading this expedition, myself.”

The poison chuckled as she
exited the room to execute the orders. The woman circled the rusty cage dragging a long fingernail along the bars of the cage. The children stared and shivered in fear at the nightmarish devil that stood before them.

* * *

That morning I awoke before both Jesse and Elle. I rubbed my eyes sleepily, feeling more tired than when I had gone to sleep. My neck had a dull ache pounding through it from trying to sleep sitting upright. I vaguely remembered the dream that had visited me. I tried going through the details of it in my mind. Estelle? Who was Estelle? To try getting a clear image, I started writing several spellings of “Estelle” in the dirt.

Istelle

Eztelle

Estelle

Elle! My heart stopped. That dark woman was coming for Elle. Could Elle’s real name possibly be Estelle? I smiled for a moment, admiring the thought that such a controlling spoiled girl could have the name of an old woman. Then I paused, the bipolar feeling in my mind jumping from humorous to fear. If Elle really is who they were speaking of then that means she knew about the raid and when it was going to happen. Elle was the leak that let them in! No…she couldn’t have been…could she? These were all heavy accusations from a dream. Maybe my mind was only trying to make sense what was going on around me.

I tried to think back to my dream, of when they had said they were going to come. “Tomorrow” was what the woman had said. I felt discouraged. Tomorrow could mean anything. It could even mean today. Rummaging through my head to remember what time of day it had been, all I could see were the stars and the darkness. That’s night or early morning, which didn’t give me much to go on, if anything at all. Until I could make sense of all this, I had to be cautious but I couldn’t alarm the other two.

Jesse’s yawning and stretching interrupted my thorough thoughts. I quickly brushed away the words I written in the dirt with my palm. Jesse’s eyes focused on me as he opened them.

“Morning,” He yawned. “What are you doing up so early?”

I rubbed my head like it hurt to think of a response. “I had a weird dream…that’s all.”

Jesse nodded in acknowledgement, stroking Elle’s blond hair soothingly until she woke up from her restful sleep. Despite her innocent and rested face, I couldn’t help but feel some bitterness toward her. The events in my dream added up to perfectly to be a coincidence. Elle’s soft hazel eyes opened slowly meeting with Jesse’s.

“Morning, love.” Elle smiled up at Jesse, giving him a quick kiss. Jesse hugged her tightly then helped her to sit up right so he could make breakfast.

Jesse hissed a few words to the fire and blew on to the ashes, somehow doing that created a fire. The flame became large and strong quickly. Jesse dug out some meat and vegetables from one of the bags. I didn’t understand how they could stay in that burlap sack so long without smelling rancid. Granted I didn’t understand much about the properties of natural magick at all. He threw a couple pieces of meat in a small tin for me placed it in the fire for a few minutes. Also, setting a few raw pieces aside for Elle and himself. When everything was prepared, Jesse dispersed the food accordingly. Elle began eating right away but Jesse and I just sat there, poking at ours. Neither of us seemed hungry, the events of last night still weighing heavy on our minds.

Jesse looked desperate to find something to break the silence. “Naomi, what was your dream about?”

Damn it! Of course he would choose that. What should I tell him? It was only a dream. Maybe it wouldn’t happen. Not like he would believe me anyhow. Worst of all, what if Elle really was behind all this? It would give everything away… I decided it was no use worrying him and accusing Elle over nothing.

“It was just strange…I barely remember it.” I lied.

“Okay…” Jesse responded, a little confused. “After we’re done here we can go back and check for Aura and any other survivors.”

“I-Is that really a good idea?” Elle chimed in, finishing her food. She seemed really on edge or nervous about something.

Jesse shrugged. “Well, why not? I thought you’d want to go back and see what we could salvage.”

“Oh yes, uh, good idea.”

Jesse looked at her. “I just said that. What’s wrong with you?”

Elle looked down at her feet, uneasily. “I just, what if the poison are still there?”

Jesse smiled. “That’s what you’re so worried about?” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “The poison don’t stay in one place very long and even if they do, I have roses. We’ll be fine but we need to check on survivors. What kind of leaders are we if we don’t?”

The way Jesse talked showed me a side of him that wasn’t so adult. It showed he was still a teenager with dreams and ideas of being a leader. He made it sound like he had something to prove to someone.

Elle cuddled into Jesse. “All right, all right. Let’s go.”

We packed up all our provisions again in case we found anything questionable or got into trouble and had to move on the run. I felt useless because I had nothing to carry, though neither of them seemed to complain. Elle was more of the “if you want it done right, do it yourself” type and Jesse just didn’t act bothered.



The world around us in the early morning was still. There wasn’t a breeze to rustle the trees’ leaves or a bird singing its song. For a world above that didn’t know the hell below, it sure was in a state of mourning. The sky above was an overcast gray shielding the innocent sun from the peril the world felt.

Jesse led the way to the camp yet again, though this time it was a few minutes rather than a few hours. My feet and tired body were very grateful to do less work. When we got to the pine tree, Jesse opened it slowly, speaking softly like he was talk to himself. Solemn toned, like he was reading someone’s eulogy. There was no wonder as the door opened, only the dread of what were to meet us at the end of the tunnels.

We trudged down the stairs and through the tunnels on a death march. Death, sorrow, and musky smoke filled the air around us. As we reached the entrance to the camp an anxiety came over me. What if there were still poison around? Where is Aura? Are there corpses everywhere?

Questions received answers while I set foot inside. My eyes scanned the camp. I barely recognized the place. The once tranquil, orderly refugee camp was now just another casualty of war. Tents were flipped over and tossed in all directions, their canvas fabric partially burned. Belongings were scattered throughout the area. Broken glass appeared to pave the ground. Glittering as glimpses of light ran across them. Bodies of elders and children alike were tossed aside like old toys. A sight I don’t think any tyrant would be proud to see.

“Keep walking.” Jesse said noticing my disdain. Gently, he pushed me forward. “Here take these,” He slipped a few roses into my hand. “Elle and I are going to go through the mess hall and see if we can find anyone.”

I nodded, wrapping my fingers too tightly around the roses’ stems which were dotted in thorns. They pricked holes into my skin but I couldn’t feel it, I was in too much shock. It took some time for my eyes to separate from the scene. I had to keep focused on the reason I was here…Aura. I decided the best place to start was the place I knew best: the guest tent.

To avoid looking at the death covering the ground I kept my eyes forward, on the devastation of the charred tents. The walk the back of the camp was the longest it had ever been. The world surrounding me was in a black ashy blur. My hopes were shot when I arrived. I’m not sure what I had expected to find. Silly to think that my belongings would be the only ones undisturbed.

The guest tent was flipped on its side, exposing what was left of the cot, which was caked in ash. The trunk was unscathed by the flames but was completely upside down from some other outside force. Tattered pieces of my backpack were scattered across the floor along with my clothes, food, and other personal items.

Tossed to the side was my picture of my mom, Sienna, and me. My mom was completely burned out of the photo—almost deliberately. I picked it up holding the burned picture in my hand. That was a sure sign that my past was long gone and I couldn’t live that way anymore. Jesse was right, I was a part of this now more than I ever was. I prayed that the poison hadn’t been the one to find the picture. They would know everything about who I was. Bringing my hand up to my neck I checked for my necklace. Still there, safe and sound. The charm would be the last memorabilia I would ever have of my mother and I was relieved not to have lost it in the raid. My fingers traced the burned edge where my mother had been. Yet again, Sienna and I were left behind. Left to fend for ourselves in the cold world. I took one last look before shoving the picture in my boot, I had no pockets. The rest of my belongings were futile to grab. That Naomi was not me anymore…

As I started to get to my feet to leave, I saw movement from under the cot. Fear came over me, thinking it was a left over poison. But what poison could fit under a cot? Before I could attempt to defend myself from who ever was inside, a figure \popped out.

“Boo!” Aura exclaimed with a giggle. “Mimi!”

My skeleton nearly flew out of my skin. “Aura!”

I grabbed her and held her close, in completely disbelief that she survived the wreckage and disaster. Feeling as though I had been reunited with a long lost family member.

“You have to be more careful…what if that hadn’t been me?”

Aura giggled again then started in my direction blankly for a moment. Looking at me like I was completely stupid. “I know it was you all along Mimi! I can hear your heartbeat. Everyone’s is a little different.”

I had guessed that with being blind she had to make up for her loss of sight by hearing. I wondered how long she had been hiding under the cot. She must have been scared to death and starving. Her face and dress were covered in ashes and soot. She was barefoot, just like Roxi had taught her. Roxi? Aura had no idea she was gone…

“Mimi? Where’s Roxi?”

My heart sank. There was no right time or place to tell what had happened. Flashing back to when I had to Sienna that our mom wasn’t going to be around anymore. Somehow, Aura understood what was going on. She looked to the ground.

“She’s dead…isn’t she…?”

I hugged her again. “I’m afraid so, Aura...but she’s safe now. Just like you are with Jesse, Elle, and me.”

Aura made sour face when she heard Elle’s name. Even she didn’t care for her. I smiled at her. Reaching out and grabbing Aura’s hand. She held on loosely at first but tightened her grip as I pulled on her hand to leave.

“Well, even if we don’t like Elle, we still need to find her and Jesse. C’mon.”

Aura sighed and nodded, letting me lead her.

“Don’t let go of my hand.” I told her. “There’s glass all over, we wouldn’t want you to step in any.”

Aura held my hand tighter in order to respond.

On the way through the camp, I was relieved Aura wasn’t able to see. No child, especially so young, should have to see that kind of destruction. I could only imagine what she heard during it all. It had to have been plenty for one person. I led her smoothly through the camp, dodging glass and other hazards. The comfort she had when walking paths she knew was long gone with all the tents in the way. The difficulty of the labyrinth increased for her dramatically. Against all the obstacles, when we approached the mess hall I could tell Aura knew exactly where we were.

“Mimi, I’m hungry…can we eat?”

I smiled at the innocence of her question, unsure if I could promise her anything until we got back to the shelter. “If there’s any in there, it’s all yours.”

That seemed to satisfy her for now.

I went inside first to make sure the coast was clear. All I saw were Elle and Jesse, standing over a body. I tugged on Aura’s hand to guide her inside. Even she could sense the death in the air, showing some reluctance before entering. Neither Elle nor Jesse noticed us, they just stayed frozen in place.

“That rat bastard.” Jesse cursed.

As Aura and I stood beside them I recognized the body on the ground to be Seth. Lying on the ground in the supine position, his hair caked with blood from a gunshot wound to the head. His eyes were wide open, still empty of feeling. The corpse gaze he possessed fit more than ever now.

“Jesse, Aura is right here.” I scolded him for swearing in front of her, unable to take my eyes off the body.

“He hid! When the whole camp needed him! The bastard hid! Like a coward! A goddamn coward!” Jesse screamed in a fit of rage, kicking Seth in the shoulder. The body moved limply from his force.

Aura became nervous hearing Jesse shout like that. She clung to the bottom of my dress, burying her face in my leg. I stroked her back gently, trying to keep her calm.

“It’s okay, Aura.” I whispered to her. “Jesse’s just frustrated.”

Through all of Jesse’s frustrations Elle had not once tried to help him. She stood there emotionless. Her eyes darted back and forth between Seth’s bullet wound and his eyes. She fidgeted her delicate fingers, twisting each one through the other. Doing this as she tried to make sense of something in her head.

“Silver bullets.” Elle stated. “He wouldn’t have died from anything else…But, how did they know?”

I had no idea what she was referring to. I was fairly sure any type of bullet coming from a gun could kill a human being. Maybe it had something to do with the fact he was a sorcerer not human. Now wasn’t the time to be “naïve Naomi” and ask stupid questions the others already knew the answer to.

“Maybe Seth was the leak.” Jesse sighed, discouraged.

I knew what kind of person Seth was but he didn’t seem like a traitor who would betray his own people. Ultimately, hurting him in the process. He wasn’t that stupid.

Finally breaking his fit of rage, Jesse placed a supportive hand around Elle’s waist. How could she not feel anything while we were in there? That was her family that was murdered and taken. I couldn’t believe that she wasn’t bawling or feeling anger or anything. Only emotion she gave off was confusion.

Aura finally stopped hiding as things calmed down. Rather than being calm like the rest of them, all this pain and death was becoming too much for me. I needed to get out. My stomach churned with nausea from scent of the smoky morgue. I placed a hand on Jesse’s shoulder as I took a few deep breaths.

“Can we leave, please? Aura needs to eat.” I asked, forming an excuse. I must have looked sicker than I felt because Jesse’s eyes looked at me with worry. Elle told Jesse she wanted to leave too.

“We need to get out of here and stay in hiding for a few days.” Jesse suggested. “I don’t trust what they know, they could know about the shelter so that location is compromised now to.”

“Where are we going to go now?” Aura asked, she sounded very tired.

Jesse stopped for a moment, squatting down to Aura’s level to look at her. He took her hand while he was talking to her. Finally, he acknowledged her existence though his voice came off as sounding stressed. “I’m glad to have you back and to know you’re safe Aura, you’re a brave little girl. I think we’re going to go to an old hiding place I used to use when I hunted.”

Aura giggled, giving Jesse a hug. “Don’t be angry Jesse, I won’t let them get you.”

“Thank you, that makes me feel so much better, Aura.”

I smiled at their bonding conversation, that he would let her have that moment.

“Were you able to find your backpack, Naomi?” Jesse asked, I could tell he was actually hinting towards the picture.

“Yes but it was destroyed.” I responded remorsefully.

“I’m sorry.” He said while we began to walk towards the exit of the camp.

“That person isn’t me anymore, anyway.”

Jesse bowed his head in respect with a solemn smile picking up my answer to his question from the previous night. I was in this just as deep as everyone else now and I wasn’t intending on leaving until something was fixed.

Jesse led the three of us to a rundown shack, for lack of a better word. It hadn’t looked like it had been used in many years, just as Jesse had said. The brush surrounding it was overgrown, trying to make the shack part of the forest forever. Random 2 x 4s were barring the windows from the outside world. The roof looked damaged and rotted in some places, probably leaking when it rained. Attached to the shack was a small hut, I presumed to be an outhouse of some kind. It didn’t seem like the ideal shelter but it was better than sleeping on the ground outside like we had been doing lately.

Elle looked at Jesse then back at the shack. “You sure this is safe, Jesse?”

“I’m positive, love.” Jesse assured leading us inside.

I guided Aura by holding her hand, though mine was clammy and sweaty, she refused to let go. She could sense Elle’s presence around and she didn’t trust her. Frankly, I didn’t trust her either. Any time Elle would get near her, Aura would squeeze my hand tighter.

When we entered the shack the entire structure was made of wood in the most basic pattern possible. Flooring was made of wood with a very dirty rug spread across it to keep from getting splinters. One cot rested patiently in the corner and a cabinet-like closet in another for housing guns and other belongings. No electricity, just like everywhere else in the forest, the only light came from cracks in between the boards that covered the windows. Sunlight shown through making the decorations of spider webs and dust much more visible.

“Cozy.” I commented, trying to lighten the mood.

“It’ll do.” Jesse said, shooting down my compliment. “Elle and I are going to go get some firewood. You stay here with Aura and give her something to eat.”

I nodded to Jesse. Elle handed me her bag because that was where all the food was being kept. I dug through it for something simple for her to eat. Elle and Jesse walked out of the shack letting the door slam loudly behind them, startling Aura and I. Quickly, while digging through Elle’s bag, I was able to find a small biscuit and a few vegetables. I found a crate stacked in another corner and blew off the dust so Aura would have a table to eat at. She felt around for it and sat cross-legged on the floor.

“Here, Aura. Eat slowly, I know it has been a long time since you’ve eaten.” I held the biscuit out to her and she took it gratefully.

Aura ate slowly, like I had asked, savoring every bite she took. I took it upon myself to straighten out around the shack as best I could; taking Jesse’s and Elle’s backpack and shoving them into the cabinet. I wish I could have been able to dust the place, breathing it in was hell on my lungs.

After a couple more minutes, Aura stopped eating. She dropped her biscuit on the crate with a quiet thump. Her blind eyes were locked straight forward without blinking.

“Aura? Are you okay?” I asked immediately kneeling by her side.

Aura shook her head and grasped my hand tightly.

“Are you remembering things from the camp? What did you hear?”

She nodded. “I-I remember lots of shouting. Malachi grabbed my hand and told me to run as fast I could. And I did run. I knew where your tent was, Mimi. I tried to find you but you weren’t there…”

I felt tremendous guilt leaving Aura in the middle of a raid, possibly, for the second time. She must have been terrified. But what could I have done to save her? I was just…me. Nothing special, no bravery, like Jesse, Elle, or Roxanna. Even if I had the chance to protect her there’s nothing I could do…

The silence was awkward between the two of us. I didn’t know what explanation I could give her that she would fully understand and be okay with. Aura went back to nibbling at her biscuit as the fear faded from her gray eyes.

“They’ve been a long time haven’t they?” I asked, noticing that a few hours had gone by since Jesse and Elle had left the shack. I knew it didn’t take that long to get firewood, not in this forest. Twigs and branches were all over the place, especially since it was autumn.

My question was answered with a scream that sounded like Elle’s. Aura looked in all directions wondering where the sound had come from. Unsure of what was going on I thought of the one thing I could do. I was not going to fail Aura again. I picked her up and carried her over to the wooden cabinet in the corner that held the supplies. Shutting the cabinet, leaving a little crack for dusty-fresh air.

“Stay in here until I come for you, you understand?”

“Yes, Mimi.” I heard Aura respond in a whisper from behind the door.

I exited the shack quickly to see what was going on. Yards ahead of me were Jesse and Elle, their eyes locked on the same tree. In it, perched very ladylike, were my nightmares. A woman dressed in a long red dress with black accents and red snake-like eyes was staring right at me. Her gaze wasn’t empty like the two poisons’ that flew idly beside her like body guards. The woman’s eyes never left me as I walked slowly to stand beside Jesse and Elle.

“Hello Estelle.” The woman said in a sly voice breaking the staring contest. At first I thought she was talking to me, but in reality, she was talking to Elle.

Elle nodded to her but kept an alert, cautious face. Jesse looked as though he had seen a ghost.

“Who is that?” I whispered to Jesse, feeling stupid for asking.

“Naomi, go inside now.” He hissed.

“No. Now, who is that?”

Jesse gave up with little fight. “Witch Lucretia Sinest.” He moved in front of Elle as a gesture to protect her, watching Lucretia at all times.

Lucretia dropped from her perch, gracefully landing on her feet. She must have been six feet tall. She towered over Elle and me and met close to Jesse. Jesse tensed up, readying himself like he was going to attack Lucretia at any second.

“Aw, that is so cute. The boyfriend sorcerer coming to protect his sweetheart. Estelle, I thought you were better than that. If it was not so laughable I would cry. Come here, darling.” Lucretia ordered to Elle.

Elle didn’t take much time to ponder her decision. Within moments, she was already walking out from behind Jesse. He grabbed her arm at the last possible second.
“Don’t…”
“Jesse. Back off. I’ll be fine.” Elle shot at him.
That didn’t sound like her at all. I couldn’t tell whether she was putting on an act for Lucretia or if the way she had been in the camp was an act. Regardless of who she was lying to, she stood bravely before Lucretia. The woman who had haunted my dreams since I had come into this godforsaken forest. Lucretia paced back and forth in front of Elle like an army general in front of his men. In one swift move she kicked Elle in the back of the legs, forcing her to the ground. Jesse clenched his fists while his eyes turned bright yellow. He growled deeply under his breath, taking a step forward but Elle stopped him before he could continue.
“Jesse! Don’t! It’s not worth it!”
He hesitated.
Lucretia kicked Elle hard in the back. I felt empathy for the pain because my stepfather had done the same to me. It sounded like it hurt. Elle didn’t whine like I did. She just took the pain like it was nothing to her.
“Shut up!” Lucretia scolded. “If he wants to try and stop me, let him.”
Jesse gave her a death stare like nothing I had ever seen before. I knew if the opportunity presented itself he would kill Lucretia. Not thinking before he acted, Jesse leapt forward instantly being cut off by two poison that tackled him to the ground. They held him down unforgivingly by his arms. Jesse struggled violently. His canine teeth had grown longer and sharper. Snapping at them and squirming were his only defense. To my surprise, neither of the poison had tried to drain him.
Lucretia chortled evilly. “You are stronger than I expected, Mr. Slater.”
My blood boiled watching all of this before my eyes, and being completely helpless. How could she possibly enjoy inflicting this kind of pain and torture on them?
“Why are you doing this?!” I cried, finally able to speak.
Lucretia’s first moment to acknowledge me. She didn’t seem too surprised to see me. As thought she had known I was with the two of them all along.
“Why? To settle the score, my dear.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Tsk, no need for harsh words.” She scolded. “I have some unfinished business with Estelle and with you, my dear.”
I looked at her with a confused expression. What could she want from me? I was just me, Naomi, a runaway. Unless she was the one who had found the picture of me with my mother, then she must have not known my mom had any children. Lucretia and I both knew I couldn’t hurt her. Even though, I wanted nothing more than for her to suffer.

Lucretia knew I didn’t understand. She wanted to show me rather than just tell me, which frustrated me even more. She held out her boney hand in a fist, slowly opening it displaying a red and black flame. As she flattened out her palm, I noticed an image in the fire. One that became clearer the more I stared into it.

The image was Sienna sitting a rusty cell. Trapped in a cell that I had seen before, in my dream. Sienna was gripping the bars and she was yelling something. She looked dirty, cold, and drained. Anger wore down my body like a lit dynamite fuse, I glared at Lucretia with enraged eyes.

“Let. Her. Go.” I demanded coldly, becoming blinded by the tears the filled my eyes. Sienna’s afraid face became a black and red blur.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that sorceress.” She chuckled.

I dropped to my knees feeling very weak in front of her. She overpowered me and that killed my spirit. Sienna really was gone. I had failed her by leaving. I knew this would happen. As soon as Sienna was out of my sight she was in danger.

Lucretia smiled knowing she had one this very small battle. Jesse still struggled with the two poison behind us. She draped her cloak over where Elle was laying snapping her fingers. An abundance of vines grew instantly from the ground enveloping them both. The dirt beneath them cracked open letting them fall through. As the earth closed, Lucretia’s laugh faded away into the stillness of the sunny afternoon.

“No!” Jesse screamed from his restraints.

As soon as Lucretia and Elle disappeared from view the poisons released Jesse. He scrambled to his feet growling at them both as they flew away, unscathed. Jesse rubbed the burns on his wrist that he had gotten from struggling so much.

“Damn it!”

“Jesse,” I said, placing a hand on his shoulder, trying to help in some way. “You tried. There’s nothing you could have done.”

He pulled away from my hand harshly, unable to believe what was going on around him. “I’m supposed to keep Elle safe! Why didn’t she fight back? Why did she just stand there?”

“M-Maybe they knew each other.” I suggested fearfully, immediately regretting what I had said.

Jesse looked up from the ground. His once dreamy emerald eyes were now golden ones filled with hatred. His dark stare terrified me. “Elle is my girlfriend and my best friend. We’ve barely left each other’s side for more than a day in two years. She wouldn’t keep that kind of thing a secret, not from me.”

Jesse walked over to Elle’s stack of firewood that had been scattered across the ground when she dropped it. He gathered it in his hands, ignoring that I had said anything at all. He picked at some of the bark before speaking.

“Will you carry this back to the shack?”

“S-Sure.” I responded, taking the bundle from his hands, still baffled by his golden eyes and sharp teeth.

I rushed Jesse quickly back to the shack, having completely forgotten how long I had left Aura in that closet. Jesse entered first to make sure none of the poison had stuck around. When he saw the coast was clear he let me follow inside. I instantly went to the door of the closet, pulling it open. Aura was curled up in a ball on the floor of the closet, breathing softly in a dreamless, peaceful sleep. Relief washed over me, I picked her up in my arms carrying her over to the cot. Her simple red hair flowed across the pillow on the cot and her eyes were shut. She looked relaxed. I couldn’t express how glad I was that she hadn’t heard any of what had just occurred. Maybe in all this hell she was able to stay innocent just a little longer.

Not taking my eyes off of Aura I asked Jesse a question that I feared receiving the answer. “Is there any way we could get Sienna and Elle back?”

“Lucretia’s home base is an old Zephyr court meeting place called Noastra. It’s similar to a castle. Not many people last there very long, much less make it out alive to tell the tale.”

“But is there a chance?” I asked, making sure he didn’t avoid my question.

“Slim to none but, I guess so.”

“Please,” I begged, finally turning to look at him, his eyes back to normal. “If there is any chance of saving my sister. She’s all I have left. Let me try.”

Jesse sighed pondering the options back and forth. His eyes told me he didn’t have much choice as long as his lover and a child were in danger. But, this also meant putting another child in danger: Aura. The decision was not an easy one to come to but there weren't many options left.

“Fine.” Jesse stated. “We’ll try to get them back, but what about Aura? The walk will take about two days I can guarantee. Are you sure she can handle it?”

I wasn’t sure how much more of these situations Aura could take. The peril around us wasn’t safe for a four year old especially along with grueling hours of traveling. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much else we could do with her. She had no one else to stay with and she was my responsibility, along with Sienna. They needed me and I intended to care for them both.

“Aura is a strong, determined little girl. She can handle it, Jesse. When should we leave?”

“Take tonight off. Build up your strength. We leave at dawn.”

I had woken up Aura an hour before dawn giving us enough time to pack and I could fill her in on where we were going and why. I couldn’t help but to smile at Aura for being unable to hide her relief that Elle was gone. Though, I was forced to scold her because Elle was possibly in real danger and that wasn’t something to joke about, especially, with Jesse around to hear it. I begged Aura to wear shoes for the trip but she refused talking like Roxi was still alive.

“No, Roxi says I can’t.”

During the first day of the journey, Jesse wasn’t up for conversation. He carried two bags with him while I kept an eye on Aura. This was a full time job for the both of us. I imagine carrying two bags was very heavy but he didn’t show it. I had to constantly hold Aura’s hand or carry her. Whenever she heard the sound of an animal she would stop and want to look for it and we didn’t have that kind of time right know. I promised her I’d find an animal for her to keep as a pet after we got Sienna back; a rabbit or squirrel or something. Deep down, I was unsure if I could really keep this promise, but it at least gave Aura something to look forward to.

The scenery around us hardly changed. We were following a dirt path that was lined with dying trees and lifeless weeds. Leaves and twigs crunched under our footsteps. I still wished Aura had worn shoes or something to protect her feet. The air around us was chilly in the morning. Dew crystals glistened brightly off the brush.

Jesse led the way, remaining a few steps ahead of us at all times. He was lost in his own mind, his own worried thoughts. Jesse missed Elle a lot. I could see in his stare, in the way he moved, an in the way he walked. His pace was out of rhythm and sloppy. I kind of felt sorry for him. As much of a bitch as I thought Elle was, she was his “other half”.

By Lucretia’s visit I had made a terrible discovery. Elle’s real name is Estelle. Meaning she was the person that Lucretia and the poison were referring to in my dream. Elle wasn’t the person Jesse thought she was so does he really love her? How do I tell Jesse about her betrayal that triggered the raid?

Despite all that, Jesse was just one of many things on my mind. I had just met Lucretia Sinest, the woman responsible for ruining my life. My mother’s blood is on her hands, and now she was behind the kidnapping of my sister. I wondered how my stepfather must be taking all this. Drinking more than ever, I assume. Maybe he manned up and called the police, not for me, but for Sienna. It wouldn’t do any good but at least it would show he cared about something besides booze. He loved Sienna, at least, I thought he did.
The last topic I had avoided this entire time is the one that had scared me the most. How did Sienna know all this already? It’s not uncommon for children to “dream the future” but she knew and remembered almost every detail. Drawing pictures and having dreams about the fantastical plot that was involuntarily becoming my life. That’s where I had heard the name Lucretia before. She had said that a witch was going to kill her. That was the main part of the future I didn’t want to come true. But if that does, then who or where is the werewolf that was supposed to be protecting her?

Day slowly transferred to night on the horizon. Sunset painted itself across the sky with shades of pastel. We hadn’t stopped for a break in hours. Aura was sleeping in my arms. Her weight was hell on my traveling legs but I refused to wake her up and make her walk. My feet were exhausted as was my spirit to continue forward for today but I wasn’t about to show weakness for Jesse to see. I had to show him I could handle this. Jesse still hadn’t spoken to me, and wouldn’t until the sun met with horizon line. He paused his sloppy steps and turned around to look at Aura and I. His lips threatened to smile as he saw Aura sleeping.

“Are you getting tired yet?” He asked. A band of crickets started to chirp around us.

Thinking he would never ask, I yawned in response.

“Do you want to set up camp for the night?”

I nodded, unable to fake my endurance any longer. Hiking, as interesting as it was, was not something I enjoyed doing for a day straight.

“No use being tired.” He said. “It’s getting dark and walking in unknown territory blindly at night is signing your own death warrant. There’s a clearing a few yards away, we can set up camp there.”

I carried Aura over to the clearing surrounded by thick bushes and tall trees. The world around us ignored our presence like we were just another part of nature, not interrupting the balance. Laying my cloak down on the ground to give her something to lie on, I set her down. She was out cold, dead to the world for the whole night I was sure. Her soft smooth breaths showed she wasn’t distressed by her dreams which was the reassurance I needed. Jesse set his bags down delicately, relieving himself of the physical burdens. Glass bottles and jars clinked against one another from inside the bags.

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to collect firewood. Keep an eye on Aura in case she wakes up. Will you be all right by yourself?”

“Yes, Jesse. I can take care of myself.” I replied, rolling my eyes.

I was flustered that he still thought I was too naïve to even be left alone for a few minutes. I’m not sure if he was okay by himself out there from what had happened last time he went searching for firewood, and that was with two people.

“I’m sorry, I’m just overprotective, I guess.” Jesse apologized walking away, his steps faded into the forest around me.

The moment I knew he was gone, I reached for Jesses backpack. It had been taunting me for some time. I wanted to see what he kept in that little bag of tricks. Curiosity got the best of me, what else could he be hiding? Elle wasn’t who she said she was. Who is to say Jesse is who he says? I was sure I had already seen most of it. Absinthe, food, provisions. I unclasped the belt that held the leather flap down and peered inside. It contained: roses, a comb, food, a canteen for water, absinthe bottles, matches, a thin blanket folded small and neatly, and a few jars and leather pouches.

One jar in particular caught my eye. Trying to fight my curiosity I picked it up, put it back, and then picked it up again. I examined it closely. The glass was green and translucent. It was oval shaped and filled with a dried flower or leafy substance that I thought at first glance to be some kind of drug similar to marijuana. As I took a second look I saw a label was wrapped around the jar. “WOLFSBANE”.
Reading the label caused me to flashback to several odd occurrences at the sorcerer camp. The elders eating raw meat, Jesse and Seth’s animal scratches, and the yellow eyes. More importantly, it was an explanation to what the poison “found out” and why they needed silver bullets. My jaw dropped. Everything seemed to make sense and fit into place now.

How did I not realize this sooner?
Jesse Slater…is…a…WEREWOLF.

Not a moment after I shoved all of Jesse’s belongings back into his bag did he come around the corner with an armful of firewood. For some subconscious reason, I couldn’t make eye contact with him or even look at his face. He fumbled around in his bag for a match to light the fire then his bottle of absinthe. Sipping it casually while he situated himself across from me. He looked like he needed the night to relax.

“Naomi? Is something on your mind? You’re looking at me funny…”

“Y-You’re a werewolf…aren’t you?” I confronted. The wolfsbane was still in my hands, I had forgotten to put it away the most important thing along with everything else. I felt like I was unable to keep quiet with what I thought I knew. What I wanted most was the truth even if it meant a shocking discovery like this.
Jesse took the wolfsbane from my hands. His rough fingers picked at the crudely made label. He didn’t reply, he didn’t need to. Nor did he question why I was going through his belongings.

“How did you become one? Did it hurt?” I shot questions at him like a crazed fan, I had never spoken to such a creature before. Somehow he was still the same Jesse that he was when I met him. I knew from the start he was dangerous, I just didn’t know how dangerous until now.

Jesse rolled up his sleeve to display a nasty looking bite mark. A light bruise surrounded the scar. He avoided my eyes, gazing into the fire.

“It was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced.” He whispered more to himself than to me. Lost in his thoughts, his eyes darted back and forth, reliving the memory. “An underground law was passed: all sorcerers over the age of 15 were to become a werewolf, including the elders and myself. It was the only safety from the poison and we all knew it. They can only feed on a pure sorcerer, as I’ve said before.”

“Then how could they feed on Roxi?” I wondered aloud.

“She refused to become a werewolf. No one really knew why but Elle and I. Her home was destroyed by them not the poison.”

“Who turned all of you?”
Jesse took a long time to answer this question. He was still reminiscing. “We all have our own venom syre. Some are repeat syres but not many. Most werewolves are related to or romantically involved with their syre. No one else would take that much time on a ‘pup’. A venom syre has to show them the ropes, contain them on their first full moon when the venom sets in, and make sure they don’t kill any more than…their share.”

“Have you turned someone?”

Jesse laughed at my question. I didn’t see what was exactly humorous about it. “Turning someone is not only painful for the person but for the venom syre, as well. Having to inject the correct amount of venom takes immense concentration. Put in the wrong amount of venom and they’re dead. Besides, I really don’t want to take on that kind of responsibility.”

For not liking responsibility, Jesse had a weird way of showing it. Being in a relationship with Elle, taking care of an entire camp, and now helping me and Aura definitely involved commitment and responsibility. Which brought me to my next of many questions I had going around in my mind.

“Is Elle your venom syre?” I asked as gently as possible.

Jesse closed his eyes and went back to thoughts. I figured he wasn’t going to answer but I was wrong.

“Yes.” He finally sighed. “I really don’t want to talk about it. I love Elle but this is one subject where I am not particularly proud of her.”

“Do you hate what you are?”

He turned his back to me, mumbling softly. “With every bone in my body. This power is nothing but a curse. The wolf deep down in me absolutely loves it but when I’m in control it’s an endless burden. My temper is terrible when I don’t remedy it with absinthe and wolfsbane.”

“Remedy?”

“All werewolves have their own home-remedies for wolfism.” Jesse explained. “Most of these remedies consist of human-realm controlled substances such as hard liquor, marijuana, cigarettes, or cocaine. Absinthe has been illegal in many human countries for a long time so now we have to make our own. I’m unfortunately down to two bottles. Anyhow, these substances are mixed or laced with wolfsbane to help our temper and strength by toning them down. We don’t get drunk, high, have hangovers, or any other ill effects. Just a mild buzz to calm the rage.”

“Your ‘remedy’ is absinthe?”

“Yes, I prefer absinthe or vodka mixed with wolfsbane. Even though it’s strong, it’s better than smoking in my opinion.”

I wasn’t sure which I would prefer him to use. He could smell like stale smoke like Seth or stale alcohol like my stepfather. The options weren’t really in my favor but I suppose reliving dark memories are better than creating new ones with Jesse having a sharp temper.

“Why aren’t the children werewolves?” I asked, confused. “Doesn’t the children’s safety come first before the adults?”

“It always did.” Jesse
snapped. “That’s why we didn’t do it. Their bodies can’t handle the venom in their systems. Some of the sorcerers found that out the hard way. Watching their children die before their eyes…”

“I don’t understand.” I muttered, getting frustrated and overwhelmed with all the rules and new ideas that were coming into my mind.

I thought about back at the shelter when Jesse asked me to leave for a while so he could be alone with Elle. Back to what he was putting away when I returned, some sort of salty substance back into a leather pouch. Elle’s remedy had to be something like cocaine. Oh God, what hell had I gotten myself into?

Werewolves, sorcerers, poison, drugs, witches…what’s next?

On top of all this, there was one thing about wolfism I was scared applied to Jesse. I thought I’d try my luck anyway. “When’s the next full moon?”

“Tomorrow night.” Jesse replied faster than I had hoped, looking to the sky.

“That close?”

“Yes, the poison chose the wrong time to raid the camp. Tomorrow night there will be at least one-hundred of us, most of which will be pups, roaming around the forest for two purposes. Meat and the thrill of the chase.”

Hearing the enjoyment in Jesse’s voice when he said that sent shivers down my spine. Coincidentally, after talking about meat, Jesse started preparing dinner by taking pieces of meat out of Elle’s bag and warming them for a short amount of time over the fire. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to his habit of eating raw meat but now it made sense why he did.
Listening to the soothing sounds of the fire, we sat in silence for a while. I was soaking in all the information I had just received but Jesse looked like he wanted to say something else or ask a question of his own. I waited for what seemed like an eternity before he spoke.

“What was your mother like?” Jesse blurted.

His question surprised me. I had assumed it was something to do with werewolves, not my mother. “I thought you had met her.”

Jesse shook his head. “Well, yeah, once when I was probably two. All I know about her is what’s in our dry textbooks. What was she really like?”

“To be honest,” I began. “She’s not the kind of person that can be described. Now that she’s gone I’m starting to forget things about her, her hugs, her laugh, and other little things that I wished I never would forget. She had a beautiful singing voice to. Even that memory is beginning to fade away.”

Jesse smiled as I reminisced, like I had given him the response he was looking for. “That’s how I feel about my parents to.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring back any bad memories.”

“No, it’s fine, I brought it up.”

“If you don’t mind my asking,” I started to say. “What happened to them?”

Jesse looked to the ground. “My caretaker told me that my father, Josef Slater was a sorcerer in the Zephyr Court and that my mother, Lilianna Blackmoor, was a witch in the Zephyr Court. It was forbidden for a sorcerer and a witch to marry and, to add to it, forbidden for two members of the court to marry. My mother went by her maiden name for that reason. The day the poison raid happened was the day my father was going to announce their marriage to the court and that I existed… But they were…killed before they could say anything.”

“So you’re not a pure sorcerer?”

“No,” He sighed. “I am 1/3 sorcerer, 1/3 witch, and unfortunately now, 1/3 werewolf. No one knows that. Not even Elle. You’re not going to say anything right?”

I nodded, wondering why a sorcerer and a witch couldn’t marry or have children. For the human world, it was the 21st century, people married interracially all the time and even homosexually. The way Jesse talked made it sound like the two species “breeding” was not only a considered “sin” but, dangerous to society.

“Sorcerer and witch DNA mixed together creates a chemical reaction in the blood.” Jesse explained before I could ask. “We are called ‘dark bloods’. Visibly, the blood itself is immensely darker than a pure blood. Physically, the magick each species creates is slightly different so when they mix they tend to battle each other like an immune system attacking itself making most dark bloods crazy with uncontrolled power. So far I’ve been able to keep my status hidden and the magick under control.”

“You haven’t told Elle any of this…?” I asked feeling overwhelmed with a sense of trust but also a repetitive guilty conscience that I would have to ruin it by telling him what I knew about Elle’s treason.

“No, and I’m not sure if I would any time soon…”

“So, you can lie to Elle but she can’t lie to you?” I asked with a raised eyebrow finding a way to slip that into the conversation.

“Don’t start this.” Jesse stated coldly. He made it sound like he already knew the truth but was going on refusing to believe it.

“I’m serious, Jesse!” I exclaimed. He looked stunned by my outburst. “Elle knew that the poison were come and she let your family die.”

“Stop it, please.” He hissed.

“Even if I’m wrong about that, Elle and Lucretia acknowledged each other so that wasn’t the first time they had met.”

“SHUT UP!” Jesse yelled at the top of his lungs causing Aura to stir in her sleep as his hand flung towards my face. A loud “thwack” rung out on contact.

My cheek burned. That was the last thing I thought Jesse would do. I knew he’d be upset, but I never thought in a million years he would hit me. Especially after I told him what my stepfather had done to me.

On reflex, I had turned away but when I turned back to him his golden eyes flicked back down to their intense green. He was breathing heavily and his red embarrassed cheeks told me he didn’t really mean to do it.

“Naomi, I-I-I’m so sorry. I really didn’t mean to. You provoked my temper and…and…”

“You don’t have to explain. I said recovering from shock. That hurt ten times more than anything my father could have ever done. I added icily. “If you don’t want to listen to the truth, that’s fine. I’m going to sleep.”

“Naomi, I-I..." He continued stammering.

I refused to look at Jesse. I moved as far away from him as I could and laid down on the thin blanket I had found in Elle’s bag. I was fuming with all sorts of emotions, I couldn’t believe Jesse had the nerve to hit me after all that.
Unfortunately, I had to forgive him sooner than I would have liked because I couldn’t find the way to Noastra by myself and Sienna was more important than my grudge

I rolled on my side to face Aura. She had gone back to sleep soundly after the commotion had died down. Looking like such an angel as she slept, I feared the kind of secrets such an innocent child had to keep. Everyone was not as they seemed here, and I was positive the children weren’t exempt from that quality of life. As I drifted to sleep, my cheek still throbbed from the pain Jesse had caused.

In an elegant Victorian room stood Elle and Lucretia. Face to face. No terror expressions on either just knowing, respective faces. The room was decorated in gray, simple brick and the floor was covered in a black and red patterned area rug. The lighting was dim and to a minimum. Moonlight from the only window and a candle on a far table were the light’s only source. Their world was eerie with shadows.

Lucretia paced back and forth, not nervously but in anger like someone was trying her patience. Her high heeled boots clicking like they always did. In her hand she fiddled with a crystal amulet, the one with the snake wrapped around it. She stroked with her fingertips like one might pet a cat.

Elle stood before Lucretia anticipating some sort of outburst from her. Elle didn’t look like herself. She was dressed in a simple black and red dress that was laced like a corset in the back with red silk ribbon. Leather stiletto shoes covered her feet. Her shimmering blonde hair was curled into ringlets then pulled back into a half-ponytail. Even more horrifying, she looked like a beautiful, flightless poison.

“I told you, you must not get too close to those…those sorcerers.” Lucretia scolded. She looked like it pained her to have the word “sorcerer” escape her lips. As though sorcerers were disgusting vermin like a rat.

“Terribly sorry, your Excellency.” Elle replied, curtseying in respect then added in a slightly colder tone. “But if you haven’t forgotten, miss, I am a sorcerer.”

Lucretia’s eyes were empty and emotionless. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking or feeling besides a constant state of anger and hatred. There had to be something more there.

“But you are not like the rest of them, Estelle.” She refuted. “You are special. A breed all your own.”

Elle rolled her eyes like she had heard that speech a million times. It meant nothing to her. She was a traitor and a sorcerer. If she was to leave Lucretia she would never be welcome anywhere else as long as she lived. She was trapped. A sly smile came across Elle’s face as she indulged her lust for Lucretia’s dastardly plot.

“What are your plans now?” She asked, showing her true evil side.

“Same plans I’ve had all along…I need the crystal of witchcraft and the crystal of sorcery, and then finish off the rest of the Shadow’s family. And as for the boy,” Lucretia paused dragging out her words, allowing herself to have a sly grin. “he will meet an unfortunate death of his own.”

Elle let an expression of horror and worry escape from her eyes, refuting the evil mask she already wore. An expression that was about to condemn her because Lucretia noticed, raising an eyebrow.
“Aw, you have fallen in love with him, how adorable. All this time I thought you were just leading the boy on. I knew I should not have left you in those sorcerers’ care for so long.”
Elle’s teeth were clenched. Each word Lucretia spoke was adding another ingredient to the boiling pot that was Elle’s temper. She was a werewolf and the full moon was hours away.

“Left me in their care? I was caring for them! Please, your Grace, leave Jesse alone. Madam…please…” She begged. “He means you no harm. Do what you’d like with Naomi but don’t hurt Jesse.”

“’Means me no harm’ you say? He has destroyed at least three of my poison and tried to kill two others. I am afraid I cannot spare him, Estelle. He has seen and done too much and therefore must be…eliminated.”

Elle glared daggers at her, her boiling blood hitting the point of eruption.

“Did I touch a nerve?” Lucretia sneered.

Elle lost it, without hesitation she swung her hand at full force towards Lucretia’s face. She had gone days without wolfsbane, and thought it was easy enough for a werewolf to hurt a pure witch dictator. To her astonishment, Lucretia caught her hand mid swing at the wrist squeezing it tightly until Elle felt like her heart was pounding in her hand.

“Tremendous mistake. Have you been gone so long that you have forgotten your place?” With great force Lucretia shoved Elle to the ground. The powerful werewolf lay there almost paralyzed with bewilderment. “I have no problem with hurting you, Estelle. Cross my path and you will be lucky if you are ever able to perform magick from those dainty fingertips again.” Lucretia reached her hand out to help her comrade to her feet. “Am I clear?”

Brushing dirt off of her dress, Elle replied with a hint of anger in her pale blue eyes. “Crystal.”
* * *

I awoke the next morning sweaty, groggy, and confused. Those dreams or nightmares, or whatever the hell they were, were getting monotonous. I rubbed my eyes trying to make sense of the images in my head. Elle’s treachery was becoming more and more clear each time I went to sleep. Though I wished, for once, Jesse would receive these eye opening dreams instead of me so I could get a decent night’s sleep.

The sun had just come up maybe a few hours ago, yet the forest was already busy and full of life. Birds chirped all around in pretty tuneless songs. Dew droplets shined on the grass blades that I laid next to. Never had I come across anything so peaceful, so early in the morning.

I felt out of balance and out of place. I did not feel peaceful, physically or internally. My cheek was still sore and my jaw ached from where Jesse had struck me. Even before I turned to look at Jesse I knew tensions would be thick between us.

Jesse looked as though he had already been up for a while. A fire he had set up burned strongly so he was able to cook over it for Aura and I. He had already eaten, I think. Unlike Elle, he didn’t act like he was fond of the fact that he preferred raw meat over cooked and didn’t care to flaunt his strange habits.

I didn’t intend on speaking to Jesse but Aura blew my cover by hearing me as I tried to pack up my belongings so we could be on the road as soon as possible. I wanted to be discreet, to avoid conflict.

“Mimi!”

Crap.

I noticed Jesse cringe as Aura’s loud screech startled him. He kept his eyes to the fire moving the food around more than needed to keep himself occupied. I think he was glad that Aura was around to keep us from having any awkward discussions about last night. As dominant as he was, he didn’t seem to be the type to confront when he was in the wrong. Then again, I wasn’t sure he believed he was wrong.
Even though I felt too exhausted to be excited to see Aura that morning, I was glad to see she wasn’t sleeping for hours anymore. She had so much energy, just like Sienna. Somehow, seeing that gave me the strength to keep going and the ability to conjure up some sort of a smile on my face and a happy charm to my voice.

“Morning Aura. How’d you sleep?”

“Good! No bad dreams.” She replied with a sweet smile, sipping from a tin cup of water Jesse had given her.

I couldn’t explain to her the jealousy I felt.

Jesse distributed the meat and vegetables he had prepared for breakfast between Aura and I. The food barely touched my taste buds as it went to my stomach. I was too hungry and knew I needed the strength, not the flavor, to reach my goals of finding Sienna efficiently and alive. The luxuries of good tasting food were no longer an issue to me.

When Aura and I finished eating breakfast, she was distracted by picking wild roses in case we had any more problems with the poison. Aura never pricked her finger on the thorns. Jesse and I had to pack up camp and head out as quickly as possible. Daylight was crucial. Ever since the day I had arrived Jesse seemed to think that anything that went “bump in the night” was dangerous and out to kill us.
Our eyes had avoided each other all morning, leading up to this moment. He folded up his blanket crudely and slid it into his bag, as I was packing up a few more things. Naturally, we managed to accidentally bump into each other. The time to avoid the awkwardness of the previous night was up. He wanted to say something, I could tell because I was looking at his quivering lips. I couldn’t face the emerald.

“I’m…” He stuttered, stopping himself quickly.

I looked at him momentarily then my eyes darted to the dirt.

Jesse sighed before speaking again. “Look, Naomi, I’m sorry I hit you…”

My mind flashed back to the events of the night before. How it began, question after question. How it ended, the arguing and the hurt…to both of us. Saying or doing things that we didn’t want to confront here and now. I didn’t know how to respond. Instead, I listen to his ramblings of trying to justify his reaction.

“My temper…” Jesse trailed off, dropping his head in remorse. His eyes refused to meet mine. “You made me realize things I didn’t want to.”

I rubbed my cheek gingerly soothing the soreness, finally feeling like I was able to speak. “I’ve been hit one too many times for telling the truth. You have got to trust me no matter how painful it is to hear. I know you’d tell me the same.”

Jesse’s eyes moved between me and the ground, it was obvious he didn’t really want to continue the conversation. “And I apologize. What’s done is done. No use talking about it anymore. We’re wasting time by standing around.”

I nodded in agreement, making a gesture that I was part of the group by picking up Elle’s bag. Showing him I was able to carry my own weight. Jesse cracked a half-smile as he pushed branches out of his way to get back to the main path.

“C’mon Aura we gotta go!”

Aura came running up beside me with an armful of crimson red wild roses. I told her to put them in Elle’s bag. Quickly she stuffed them safely inside and grabbed my hand to guide her as we walked. I followed Jesse’s lead through the trees. I stepped on weeds and thorns while I found my way back to the dirt path.

Jesse walked ahead of us as usual. I had no idea where we were but I at least had an idea of where we were going. Silence returned but it was no longer awkward, just idle. All the trees that lined our route were losing their golden leaves creating our own “yellow brick road” to an unknown place. The leaves crunched underneath our feet. Aura kicked at the piles with her bare feet as she ran into them. They went flying all around like confetti. She giggled as some of them came flying back, tickling her face.

A few hours went by like minutes as the sun changed positions in the sky, high noon. The sky was clear, the sun shone brightly, for once, through the trees. I was impressed with my stamina. A dull ache was all I felt in my feet and legs.
Even more so, I was impressed with Aura. She had been great the entire time. No complaints. Aura had tripped over a stick about her height, rather than whining about falling, she simply ran ahead of us—now enjoying playing with the stick. She used it as a staff, guiding her through the forest but painting an image of her path with the tip as it ran into objects like rocks and twigs.
I had chosen to catch up with Jesse and walk with him side by side. He barely slowed down for me to keep up with him.
“Jesse, can I ask you something.” I inquired.
“Go ahead.” He said, not bothering to look at me.
“How did Elle turn you?”
“Pardon?”
“Elle,” I repeated, “How did she turn you into a werewolf? You said last night that weren't particularly proud of her for it. What made it so terrible?”
Jesse's cheeks flushed then went red. I don’t think he was expecting me to ask such something with such a difficult answer. He didn’t want to talk about it last night but now it was the only thing we really needed to discuss. I thought it may shed some light on how their relationship really was.
“I...uh...” He stuttered, trying to form the right words and phrases. He didn’t fight talking about it this time.
“About six months into my relationship with Elle, just after the werewolf law—all of the teenagers of the age of fifteen and above were to become werewolves to increase security—went into effect, Roxanna's refusal to comply had caused an uproar throughout our sister camps. We were the only two on Roxanna's side for what she believed. All others viewed her as selfish because they didn't know why. Elle and I were arguing one day in her tent.
“'They're thinking about disowning her, leaving her to die out there because she’s too much of a risk. Imagine what they’ll do to you.' Elle had said to me. 'Please, just let me turn you so we can remain together.' She begged and pleaded for a while. I remember arguing with her, telling her how I didn't want to become a monster and a murderer. She took offense to it. Saying how I probably thought she was a monster for what she was, as well.”
I listened intently to his story. I wondered if their relationship had ever had a moment’s peace. They always had seemed to be arguing. Jesse’s eyes were distant like the memory was happening all over again in his mind. He paused again, organizing the details silently.
“I apologized, I told her I loved her and wanted to be with her forever and would never ever think anything of the sort. She had smiled seductively at me and leaned in to whisper in my ear...'forever?'. I'll never forget the way she said it...the dark, sweet lust in her voice. The word sent chills down my spine. We kissed. She pushed me back onto her bed...” He trailed off.
For a moment I thought he wasn't going to continue. Then again, I wasn't sure if I wanted him to, but I shouldn’t have asked a question I didn’t want to know the answer to. After a few moments he started to speak again.
“It got passionate...” He stated reluctantly, as if the topic of a couple being intimate was something new to me. “She paused for a second, taking my arm sliding it from her bare stomach, just barely touching her chest, up to her mouth. Turning it so the underside was exposed, she brushed it against her mouth, and then licked it. Her eyes were a desirable golden. I remember asking her what the fuck she thought she was doing. Elle only looked at me with a lustful grin, bearing her canines, and bit down. Blood came to follow. The last thing I remember is a searing pain, my veins on fire, my voice yelling 'You bitch! You succubus!'. 'Now we can be together...forever...' Elle hissed, breathing heavily, as I slipped into unconsciousness from the pain.”
Leaves and the dirt made noises with every step we took, no longer an orchestra but a soloist. We both walked in a silence for a bit. I couldn’t believe the intensity of what had happened to him. How Elle could just take his freedoms of being a person and trading them in for the undesired life of a monster. I had no idea what to even begin to say next. I felt so sorry for him. Though Jesse knew he had more explaining to do, even if it meant trying to justify what Elle did, but I wasn’t having it.
“That's the method many venom syre's use. It leaves the pup in a numb daze for a bit so it’s an easier transition.” He explained.
The way he described the pain sounded so terrible. I couldn’t imagine what just turning without using those methods felt like.
Jesse couldn't look at me anymore, if he ever did. His memories overwhelmed his mind. “I can't believe I ever had spoken to her that way...” He whispered to himself rather than to me.
“She tricked you, Jess. You had every right to be mad.”
“Bullshit,” He shot back.”She had to...”
“Roxanna got away with it,” I refuted.
“She had a good argument...a good reason. I told you how her family was killed.” Jesse justified, “She didn't want to become what ruined her life. Even so, she was the mystic healer. No one knew how to do any of her rituals or find any of her medicine plants. The village would've been exterminated without her treatments. Unfortunately for me, the two sister sorcerer villages we were affiliated with only lasted a short time. They were raided weeks after I was turned. They never would’ve known.”
“But, what if you had—“
“Just drop it.” Jesse shot at me coldly, his eyes golden with anger and frustration.
The later the day got, the more irritable Jesse became. I didn't want to be hit again for upsetting him again so I took his tone as my cue to leave him alone. Speeding ahead of him, I caught up with Aura. Taking her tiny hand in mine, she smiled silently at me, welcoming the company.

The day was becoming later and later. Color of the sky above us changed from a simple blue to a pastel pink and orange. It was becoming easier for me to admire the beauty in nature the longer I was out here. The world I was accustomed to always took the sunset for granted and even though we were in a dire situation the sunset had never looked more beautiful. Bringing me out of my philosophies was Aura tugging on the skirt of my dress.

“Mimi?” Aura whined, like any four year old would. “I'm hungry.”

Jesse was lagging far behind us but he heard Aura whine to me. Before I could respond he snapped.

“We don't have enough time or food to stop! By the looks of it, if we don't stop for supplies we're only going to be able to have one meal a day.”

“Jess!” I scolded sharply. “You don't need to shout at her.”


I turned around to make eye contact with him, I couldn't believe he was yelling at Aura like that. When I saw his face he didn't look anything like himself. Jesse's eyes alternated back and forth from in front of him to the sky. He seemed to be dreading the sun's position. The closer it moved to meeting the horizon, the more anxious he became. Sweat began to show itself on his brow. Salty droplets slipped down one by one like tears. The color of his skin wasn't looking too good. He looked pale, in a feverish daze. In less than a minute, Jesse had clutched his stomach in pain and doubled over on the ground.

“Jesse!” I exclaimed, without thinking releasing Aura's hand and running back to his side. Aura stumbled as her source of support left her.

Jesse was laying helplessly on his back in the middle of the dirt path. I took his backpack placing it under his neck so he had a place to rest his head. The ebony silk that was usually his hair was caked with sweat making it look dirty and greasy. His once firm hands grasped mine loosely, they felt clammy on my skin.

“I'm fine.” Jesse rasped, his throat sounded parched.

“You don't look fine.” I said almost in a panic. A part of me thought he could be dying just from the way he looked.

Jesse's veins bulged from his temples like worms. He gritted his teeth as though something in his blood was ripping him apart from the inside out. The more pain he experienced the brighter yellow his eyes became. It scared me to gaze into those golden pools. They became empty, his soul slowly disappearing deeper into his subconscious.

Aura ran back toward us. She looked terrified even though she couldn't see the pain Jesse was feeling, she heard it. “What's wrong with him, Mimi?”

“Aura, Jesse is just sick. He needs to rest.” I didn't know what to tell her. I didn't know what Jesse really needed. The agony that showed itself in his eyes was almost too painful for me to watch. I couldn't even imagine what he could be going through.

Jesse clenched his fists tightly causing each knuckle in each finger to crack one after the other. He inhaled sharply as a new surge of pain shot through his body. Aura bit her lip as she heard the noises Jesse made while he writhed in pain. She gripped my shoulder from behind me as if to beg me to help him, make him feel better.

I stroked Jesse's forehead, the sweat on his brow clung to my palm. His temperature felt like his blood itself was boiling. I looked at him desperately for a way to help. Digging through his bag gingerly while his head still rested on it, I found the canteen of water. I poured it into a cup quickly, spilling some water on to the dirt beside us. Trembling hands, I offered the water to Jesse.

Jesse breathed hoarsely. The pain was almost too great for him to speak. “Absinthe....need absinthe.”

“Jesse, you're burning up. You shouldn't have alcohol...” I advised.

“Just give me the damn bottle!” He refused the cup of water by slapping it out of my hand. It flew violently away towards a pine tree.

Clunk

The cup hit the trunk, water painting the bark a temporary darker brown. Aura jumped at the loud noise. The entire situation was making her very nervous. I wished she hadn't been there to hear his agony.

My heart leaped into my throat. I followed his orders from there on out with little question. Jesse scared me when he yelled. He was more authoritative when he needed something than my stepfather could ever dream to be. I slid the absinthe out from his bag and just handed him the bottle. I barely wanted to touch it much less pour it for him.

After taking a calming gulp of absinthe, Jesse turned to look at Aura. She was shivering. Tears filled her eyes with worry and confusion. She didn't know what was going on or what was happening to him. Jesse was one of the only people she trusted and he seemed to be falling apart before her very eyes. I noticed Jesse's gold eyes fill with tears as well. He didn't want her to see him this way.

“Get Aura away from me.” Jesse ordered from behind clenched teeth, rolling on his side unable to bear the sight of her.

Aura tried to reason with us. “No...Jesse. I can stay. I'm okay Mimi.”

“Jesse is very dangerous right now, I'm going to take you somewhere safe, okay?”

I felt like I was lying to her. With Jesse incapacitated, the world didn't feel safe at all. I needed to take charge just like I had with Sienna but in a world I still barely knew. I desperately looked around for somewhere I could put here where she would be safe, even with all the dangerous creatures lurking around during the full moon.

“The pine tree.” Jesse coughed. “The strong scent of sap should help mask her scent from other wolves.”

Feeling pressed for time and given the state he was in, I wasn't about to argue with him. The logic seemed reasonable. My only problem was, what if she falls? Jesse was in no condition to just swoop in and save her like he always seemed to.

“Naomi. Just do it. She'll be fine.” Jesse ordered again.

Letting out a deep sigh I looked back at Aura. She still appeared fearful for Jesse. I knew she needed to be somewhere safe so she wouldn't be hurt. Unable to take the initiative myself, Aura took my hand in hers like she needed to take care of me.
I nodded to her, getting to my feet and letting go of Jesse's clammy hand. Aura tugged my hand in the direction she knew the tree was in. She remembered the sound of the cup hitting against it. Her second hand she held out in front of her feeling for the trunk of the strong pine.

I guided Aura's tiny hand to the second lowest branch of the pine tree I could find. She wrapped her fingers around the sappy branch and held on tightly. Hoisting on her light body up, I balanced her feet on the lowest branch.

“Doing okay Aura?” I asked nervously, unsure if she even had ever had the chance to practice climbing.

“I'm okay, Mimi.” Aura responded, confidently.

She reached above her for another nearby branch. Finally making contact with the rough bark. I died a little inside every time she got a little higher in the tree, petrified that she was going to fall. Around 5 feet off the ground I called to her.

“Just stay there Aura that's high enough. I'm going to go back to check on Jesse. Please, stay put.”

Aura nodded, feeling around for a place to sit. She found a thicker branch, sliding her bottom onto it. Her bare feet dangled down above my head. I breathed easier now that she had stopped moving. Aura wrapped her tiny arms around the trunk of the tree, holding on for dear life.

The sky above us was getting darker and darker by the moment. A clear, starry night was usually something to be enjoyed but this night all three of us were definitely dreading it. The last of the sun's rays were slipping behind the horizon out of sight. We were running out of time.

I walked carefully back to Jesse, looking back every few moments to make sure I could still Aura's feet. Kneeling beside him, I noticed he looked even worse than before. The sweat on his brow seemed to be absorbing into his own skin which looked looked ashy— pale and dry. Trembling, my fingertips touched his temple. I was startled by the flaky skin residue that was left behind on my fingers. In place of the ashy skin was a patch of thick, black fur. Jesse was really turning.

“Jesus Christ!” I yelled, leaping a few inches backwards.

My outburst startled Jesse to an upright position. I noticed more patches of fur all over the exposed skin on his arms, neck, and face. Clenching his hands into fists, I heard the sound of every possible joint cracking. Jesse tilted his head left and right, popping the joints in his neck. The very noise made the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight and sent chills down my spine.

Making eye contact, he smiled darkly at me exposing sharpened canine teeth. His eyes glowed their menacing gold. Gazing right through me almost ripping into my soul. He seemed even more lost in his own mind now. The monster within taking over his conscious thoughts and actions.

Jesse inhaled sharply, grabbing hold of his head like he was in pain. The groan he made morphed into a low growl. I scooted away slowly, unsure of where to go or what to do. This creature wasn't Jesse, I felt just as in danger as I had during my first meeting with the poison. Keeping his face towards the ground he bellowed quietly.

“Go to Aura... I can't protect you anymore...”

“Jess...” I protested softly.

“GO!” He roared.

Without a second thought I staggered to my feet, running towards the pine tree. Taking the same route Aura had climbed. Aura heard me climb up by my wheezing for air. I took a seat beside her on the same branch.

Looking out over the forest I noticed it was even darker than before. Ready or not, the full moon had arrived.

“Mimi, you're back.” She sounded relieved.

I shushed her quickly, speaking in whisper. “Aura, we need to be very quiet.”

Aura brought her finger to her lips in a shushing motion to show she understood.

“Thank you...”

I couldn't stress to her enough the importance of keeping silent. If anything I had read about werewolves was true they had unforgiving heightened senses— especially hearing. I had wished Jesse had prepared me more for this day so I would've known what to do. How to avoid getting hurt by these beasts. Though, I had a suspicion that maybe there was no secret, because little survived their attacks.

Aura felt around for my hand. I could tell she was shaking. Wrapping my arm around her I pulled her close. This was a first encounter for both of us and somehow we were going to get through it even if I had to give my own life protect her.

“We'll be okay...” I whispered, trying to reassure her.

I released my embrace around her for a moment, reaching to my necklace for the clasp. Undoing it, I clutched the charm and chain in my palm. I took Aura's small, trembling hand and placed it inside closing her fingers over it so she wouldn't drop it.

“Here take this. It'll keep you safe, no matter what.”

Aura smiled brightly. Having the trinket helped keep her spirits high and that was all I needed. Her fingertips felt the metal rose and the crystal it encased, just like I had done, she memorized all its blemishes.

“Thank y--”

I cut her off by covering her mouth. Movement from underneath us caught my eye. Beneath all the branches and needles was a black figure— an animal-like figure. Even in the dark, I could recognize the fur as the type that had been on Jesse earlier. He was walking on all four legs in a broad powerful stance that made him seem majestic similar to that of a lion. A prominent hairline ran from his strong head to his tail that swayed back and forth.

For the first time since I had met Jesse, I actually feared for my life.